US, S. Korea plan weekend drill
Source: Agencies |
July 21, 2010, Wednesday
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THE United States and South Korea will launch joint military exercises this weekend to sharpen their readiness against North Korean "aggression," the allies' defense chiefs said yesterday, despite warnings from Pyongyang that the drills would deepen tensions on the Korea Peninsula.
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Washington and Seoul want to send a "clear message" to North Korea after the March sinking of a South Korean warship.
Forty-six South Korean sailors were killed in the sinking, which an international investigation pinned on a torpedo fired from a North Korean submarine near the Koreas' tense sea border. The waters have been the site of several bloody skirmishes in recent years.
"These defensive, combined exercises are designed to send a clear message to North Korea that its aggressive behavior must stop, and that we are committed to together enhancing our combined defensive capabilities," Gates and South Korea's Kim Tae-young said in a statement.
North Korea flatly denies the accusations, and has warned that any punishment would trigger war.
South Korea and the US plan to conduct a four-day combined maritime and air readiness exercise, dubbed "Invincible Spirit," off the Korean Peninsula's east coast from July 25-28, their militaries said in a separate joint statement.
About 8,000 South Korean and US troops, more than 20 alliance warships and submarines including the massive aircraft carrier USS George Washington and 200 military planes are to take part in next week's drills, it said.
The F-22 Raptor - the world's most advanced fighter jets - will also be flying training missions in and around Korea for the first time, it added.
North Korea has warned the training will intensify tension because it is nothing but a preparation for an invasion.
"The warmongers would be well advised to behave themselves, bearing deep in mind the consequences to be entailed by the above-said war moves," North Korea's Minju Joson newspaper said in a commentary yesterday.
China has also opposed South Korea-US military exercise, particularly one in the Yellow Sea, saying that would inflame tension on the peninsula.
Gates arrived in Seoul late Monday. US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will join a conference with Gates and their South Korean counterparts today.
South Korea's foreign minister, Yu Myung-hwan, said yesterday that Washington is considering additional sanctions against North Korea. He said he expected a US announcement on the issue today.
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Washington and Seoul want to send a "clear message" to North Korea after the March sinking of a South Korean warship.
Forty-six South Korean sailors were killed in the sinking, which an international investigation pinned on a torpedo fired from a North Korean submarine near the Koreas' tense sea border. The waters have been the site of several bloody skirmishes in recent years.
"These defensive, combined exercises are designed to send a clear message to North Korea that its aggressive behavior must stop, and that we are committed to together enhancing our combined defensive capabilities," Gates and South Korea's Kim Tae-young said in a statement.
North Korea flatly denies the accusations, and has warned that any punishment would trigger war.
South Korea and the US plan to conduct a four-day combined maritime and air readiness exercise, dubbed "Invincible Spirit," off the Korean Peninsula's east coast from July 25-28, their militaries said in a separate joint statement.
About 8,000 South Korean and US troops, more than 20 alliance warships and submarines including the massive aircraft carrier USS George Washington and 200 military planes are to take part in next week's drills, it said.
The F-22 Raptor - the world's most advanced fighter jets - will also be flying training missions in and around Korea for the first time, it added.
North Korea has warned the training will intensify tension because it is nothing but a preparation for an invasion.
"The warmongers would be well advised to behave themselves, bearing deep in mind the consequences to be entailed by the above-said war moves," North Korea's Minju Joson newspaper said in a commentary yesterday.
China has also opposed South Korea-US military exercise, particularly one in the Yellow Sea, saying that would inflame tension on the peninsula.
Gates arrived in Seoul late Monday. US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will join a conference with Gates and their South Korean counterparts today.
South Korea's foreign minister, Yu Myung-hwan, said yesterday that Washington is considering additional sanctions against North Korea. He said he expected a US announcement on the issue today.
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