S.Korea, US launch major naval exercise

In this photo taken Tuesday, June 19, 2012, South Korean Air Forces' KF-16 fighters drop bombs during a South Korea-U.S. joint military live-fire drills at Seungjin Fire Training Field in Pocheon, South Korea, near the border with the North Korea. The drills were held in a show of combat readiness ahead of the 62nd anniversary of the start of the Korean War on June 25. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

SEOUL, South Korea – South Korea and the United States (US) on Saturday launched a massive naval exercise in the tense Yellow Sea, ahead of the 62nd anniversary Monday of the outbreak of the Korean War, a spokesman said.

The three-day drill will involve 10 South Korean warships plus the USS George Washington aircraft carrier, 8,000 personnel and hundreds of combat aircraft, the defence ministry said.

The joint naval drill, which comes amid high tensions on the peninsula, is conducted every year, alternatively in the Sea of Japan (East Sea) and the Yellow Sea.

“The naval exercise started as scheduled today,” the defence ministry spokesman said.

On Friday, South Korean and US troops held their biggest single-day joint live-fire exercise to test responses to any North Korean attack.

The drill at Pocheon near the North Korean border involved 2,000 troops along with jet fighters, tanks, Apache attack helicopters, A-10 “tank-killer” aircraft, missiles and rocket launchers, the defence ministry said.

On Thursday and Friday, the US, South Korea and Japan carried out a separate drill off the southern South Korean island of Jeju, involving destroyers, supply ships and helicopters. North Korea denounced it as a “reckless provocation”.

Tensions are high after the North’s failed rocket launch in April, seen by the US and its allies as an attempted ballistic missile test.

“Throughout the joint military exercises, South Korean and US forces will test their ability for joint operations and enhance combat-readiness,” Navy Brigadier General Park Seong-Bae said in a statement Friday.

“We will immediately retaliate against any attacks from North Korea and finish the enemy off on the spot.”