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(3rd LD) S. Korea, U.S. kick off military drills as warning to North Korea
By Kim Deok-hyun
SEOUL, July 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States launched joint large-scale military exercises off the Korean Peninsula's east coast Sunday in a strong show of force against North Korea, which has threatened military action over the drills.
The four-day drills in the east coast, the first in a series planned by the allies in the coming months, were aimed at delivering a strong signal of deterrence to the North accused of sinking a South Korean warship.
Code-named "Invincible Spirit," the naval and air drills brought together the 97,000-ton USS George Washington, one of most powerful symbols of U.S. military might, with a fleet of some 20 ships and more than 200 aircraft.
F-22 Raptors, considered the world's most advanced fighter jets, will also fly training missions for the first time in Korean airspace. Some 8,000 service members and personnel from the two nations' army, air force, navy and marines have also been called to the maneuvers.
After leaving South Korea's southern ports earlier in the day, the ships were moving toward international waters far off Ulleung Island in the East Sea, military officials said. The island is located about 120 kilometers east of the peninsula and far south of the North's waters.
"As the first of four-day exercises, we will start practicing anti-submarine warfare operations tonight near Ulleung Island," a South Korean Navy general close to the maneuvers told Yonhap News Agency, requesting anonymity.
A Seoul-led multinational probe concluded in May that a torpedo fired by a midget North Korean submarine sank the Cheonan warship in the Yellow Sea on March 26. Forty-six sailors were killed.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have spiked as North Korea, which denies any involvement in the attack, has warned of a "retaliatory sacred war" in response to the drills.
U.S. military officials said the drills are defensive in nature, but they are mindful of the North's harsh rhetoric.
The maneuvers are aimed at maintaining "peace and stability" on the peninsula in the aftermath of the North's sinking of the Cheonan, said Capt. Ross Myers, the commander of the George Washington's air wing unit.
"North Korea doesn't want these exercises," Myers told a Yonhap News Agency reporter who was aboard the carrier.
Exercise scenarios included firing artillery, dropping anti-submarine bombs and air-to-air refueling, said an official at the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff, adding Sunday was filled with mostly preparatory work.
"As an exercise to prevent attacks like the sinking of the Cheonan, we will drop sea mines and anti-submarine bombs during Tuesday's drill," said the JCS official.
On Saturday, the North's powerful National Defense Commission warned it will "start a retaliatory sacred war" of its own style "any time necessary" to counter the drills, accusing South Korea and the U.S. of "deliberately pushing the situation to the brink of a war."
The North's foreign ministry issued a similar threat on the same day, saying Pyongyang is ready for "physical measures" against the drills and new financial sanctions announced by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week.
South Korea's military said it has heightened surveillance of the North's military activities, but no abnormal moves have been detected.
China, the North's closest ally, has also opposed the maneuvers. The venue of the drills reportedly was changed from the Yellow Sea to the East Sea to address China's concern.
In terms of military assets, this week's joint drills are the biggest since 1976, when the allies staged exercises in response to the ax murders of two U.S. Army officers by North Korean soldiers at the truce village of Panmunjom.
The Nimitz-class USS George Washington carries about 80 aircraft, including F-18 fighter jets and the E-2C Hawkeye airborne early warning aircraft, has an operational range of 1,000km that covers all of North Korea and beyond.
South Korea deployed its 14,000-ton Dokdo amphibious landing ship, 4,500-ton KDX-II-class destroyers, the 1,800-ton Son Won-il-class submarine and F-15K fighter jets for this week's drills.
Japan, which has always been sensitive to the North's threats, will send four Self-Defense Forces officers as observers to the drills. It will be the first time for Japan's military officers to participate in a joint maneuver by South Korea and the U.S.
kdh@yna.co.kr
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