U.S., South Korea begin joint military exercises

N. Korea vows 'merciless counterblow'

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• The countries are engaging in an 11-day military drill
• The exercise is meant to prepare for any "potential provocations"
• South Korea: Prepare to counter threats from North Korea
• North Korea says it will deal a "merciless counterblow" to the U.S. and South Korea

RELATED TOPICS

• North Korea
• South Korea
• Korean Politics

Seoul, South Korea (-- The United States and South Korea began their annual joint military exercise Monday, kicking off an 11-day drill designed to ensure the countries' alliance is "fully prepared to respond to any potential provocations," according to a statement from U.S. forces in South Korea.

On Monday, South Korean president Lee Myung-bak ordered his military to "thoroughly" prepare with the United States to counter threats from North Korea, the Yonhap news agency reported.

The timing of the joint training comes during a time of increased military tensions. South Korea blamed North Korea for sinking a 1,200-ton warship in March, killing 46 sailors. North Korea denied it sunk the ship.

North Korea said Sunday that it will "deal a merciless counterblow to the U.S. imperialists" and to South Korean "traitors," in response to the U.S.-South Korea joint military exercise.

"The military counteraction of the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] will be the severest punishment no one has ever met in the world," a spokesman for the General Staff of the Korean People's Army said in a statement carried by North Korea's official news agency.

North Korea's statement Sunday took direct aim at U.S. President Barack Obama.

"The Obama Administration would be well advised to cool its head heated with the moves to isolate and stifle the DPRK," the spokesman for the General Staff of the Korean People's Army said, "and deeply ponder over what the DPRK meant when it clarified its resolute determination and solemn declaration to defend the country and the nation."

In response, Pentagon Spokesman Bryan Whitman said, "These are annual exercises that reflect the U.S. commitment to the stability and security of the peninsula."

On Sunday, Yonhap reported the South Korean president proposed a plan to reunite his country with North Korea and suggested a tax to prepare for the costs expected if the two countries come together.

"Inter-Korean relations demand a new paradigm," Lee said in a speech to mark the 65th anniversary of Korea's independence from Japanese colonial rule, Yonhap reported.

Lee said the two countries should form a "peace community," and stressed the importance of the denuclearization of North Korea, Yonhap reported. He added that inter-Korean exchanges are needed to help build North Korea's economy, according to Yonhap.

"It is imperative that the two sides choose coexistence instead of confrontation, progress instead of stagnation. The two of us need to overcome the current state of division and proceed with the goal of peaceful reunification," Lee said, according to Yonhap

South Korea begins massive military drill

South Korea has conducted several drills recently

South Korea has launched its biggest-ever anti-submarine exercises, the military says, despite warnings of retaliation from the North.

Some 4,500 personnel are taking part in five days of drills in the Yellow Sea, near the disputed maritime border.

The South is making a show of strength amid continuing anger over the sinking of one of its warships in March.

Seoul says a North Korean torpedo sank the Cheonan, but Pyongyang denies this and says the drills are a provocation.

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Forty-six South Korean sailors were killed when the Cheonan went down in the Yellow Sea on 26 March.

'Fully prepared'

The latest drills, which follow a joint US-South Korean military exercise, will involve 29 ships and 50 planes.

Although the Ministry of Defence says the ships will stay clear of the disputed west coast sea boundary, marines stationed on islands close to the border will conduct live-fire exercises.

But military officials said that the guns would face south and described the exercises as "defensive" in nature.

Analysis

Continue reading the main story

Nick Childs, BBC defence and security correspondent

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The fall-out from the Cheonan sinking, the location of the latest exercises near the disputed maritime frontier, and Pyongyang's rhetorical response to the manoeuvres all add to the sense of increased volatility on the peninsula right now.

But there are also longer-term trends on display here that could exacerbate the tensions in the future.

One is the continuing development of the South Korean navy into a major, modern regional force, with some of the most advanced warships in the world.

The North Korean navy, in contrast, continues to rely on an ageing assortment of submarines, midget subs and patrol craft.

The expansion of the South Korean navy, and the possibility of increased resentment on the part of its northern counterpart, only increases the chances of future flash-points.

"The focus of the exercises is to strengthen our response to the enemy's asymmetric provocations and also our joint operations capabilities," an official at the Joint Chiefs of Staff told Yonhap news agency.

"We will not tolerate any kind of provocations by the enemy, and the drills will allow us to be fully prepared for combat."

In North Korea's official media, a statement attributed to military leaders called the exercises a "direct military invasion aimed at infringing upon the DPRK's [North Korea's] right to self-defence".

Military leaders "made a decisive resolution to counter the reckless naval firing projected by the group of traitors with strong physical retaliation", the statement said.

Last month, the North threatened nuclear retaliation over joint US-South Korea naval exercises, but these passed without incident.

The disputed Yellow Sea border has long been seen as a flashpoint and there have been a number of clashes there in the past.

The boundary was drawn by the UN at the end of the Korean War in the 1950s - and North Korea does not recognise it.

The US and South Korea plan to hold more military drills in the coming months - a move that could raise tensions with China.

Beijing has refused to blame Pyongyang for the sinking of the Cheonan.

It opposed the decision to hold exercises in the Yellow Sea, urging against any action that could exacerbate regional tensions, and has also held its own military exercises in recent days.