US- S Korean naval vessels begin manoeuvres in Yellow Sea
Monday, 29 November 2010
Naval vessels begin maneuvers off the west coast of the Korean peninsula amid tensions with the North, report agencies
About 20 U.S and South Korean naval vessels have begun maneuvers off the west coast of the Korean peninsula.
The war games come less than a week after North Korea launched a deadly artillery barrage on an occupied South Korea island near a disputed maritime border.
The USS George Washington aircraft carrier and its strike force joined a pair of South Korean naval destroyers and other vessels in the Yellow Sea Sunday.
U.S. officials say the war game was planned before last Tuesday's North Korean artillery attack on a South Korean island. But they are not denying the maneuvers are a show of force meant to deter Pyongyang from further provocations. The U.S. Navy says the drill will not include any live firing.
The director of South Korea's Research Institute of National Security Affairs, Choi Jong Chul, says it is unlikely North Korea will do anything provocative while the joint maneuvers are under way.
Meanwhile: The DPRK criticised the US for sending an aircraft carrier and other warships to the region to take part in the joint military exercises off the Western coast of South Korea. It warned again that the exercises are pushing the Korean Peninsula closer to the brink of war.
KRT Newsreader said, "Escalated confrontation would lead to a war and he who is fond of playing with fire is bound to perish therein. Gone are the days when verbal warnings alone are served. We will respond to good faith in kind but punish the provocateurs encroaching upon our dignity and sovereignty with resolute and merciless counter-action."
Choi, who is also a professor of military strategy at the Korea National Defense University, says, however, once the U.S. aircraft carrier departs, it cannot be predicted what North Korea will do, thus Seoul needs to be prepared for any eventuality.
Meanwhile, China's official Xinhua news agency says the chairman of North Korea's Supreme People's Assembly, Choe Tae Bok, is to begin a 5-day visit to China from Tuesday. China is North Korea's most powerful ally.
Another report adds: Japan said Sunday it will deal cautiously with a proposal by China to have an emergency meeting in early December of envoys to the six-nation talks on North Korean nuclear disarmament.
About 20 U.S and South Korean naval vessels have begun maneuvers off the west coast of the Korean peninsula.
The war games come less than a week after North Korea launched a deadly artillery barrage on an occupied South Korea island near a disputed maritime border.
The USS George Washington aircraft carrier and its strike force joined a pair of South Korean naval destroyers and other vessels in the Yellow Sea Sunday.
U.S. officials say the war game was planned before last Tuesday's North Korean artillery attack on a South Korean island. But they are not denying the maneuvers are a show of force meant to deter Pyongyang from further provocations. The U.S. Navy says the drill will not include any live firing.
The director of South Korea's Research Institute of National Security Affairs, Choi Jong Chul, says it is unlikely North Korea will do anything provocative while the joint maneuvers are under way.
Meanwhile: The DPRK criticised the US for sending an aircraft carrier and other warships to the region to take part in the joint military exercises off the Western coast of South Korea. It warned again that the exercises are pushing the Korean Peninsula closer to the brink of war.
KRT Newsreader said, "Escalated confrontation would lead to a war and he who is fond of playing with fire is bound to perish therein. Gone are the days when verbal warnings alone are served. We will respond to good faith in kind but punish the provocateurs encroaching upon our dignity and sovereignty with resolute and merciless counter-action."
Choi, who is also a professor of military strategy at the Korea National Defense University, says, however, once the U.S. aircraft carrier departs, it cannot be predicted what North Korea will do, thus Seoul needs to be prepared for any eventuality.
Meanwhile, China's official Xinhua news agency says the chairman of North Korea's Supreme People's Assembly, Choe Tae Bok, is to begin a 5-day visit to China from Tuesday. China is North Korea's most powerful ally.
Another report adds: Japan said Sunday it will deal cautiously with a proposal by China to have an emergency meeting in early December of envoys to the six-nation talks on North Korean nuclear disarmament.