S. Korea, US launch joint exercise despite DPRK warning

 

South Korean and U.S. forces have launched an annual military exercise, despite warnings from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. It has said that it is "fully ready to fight a war."

South Korean tanks cross a river as an AH-1S helicopter (top) keeps cover during a winter military drill in Wonju, east of Seoul, on February 8, 2012.

The joint command post exercise "Key Resolve," slated for Feb. 27-March 9, has brought together 200,000 South Korean forces and 2,100 U.S. troops for drills based around assumed threats to South Korea. South Korean officials have said the exercise is "routine and defence-oriented" and was planned months ago without any connection to current international affairs.

Kim Min-Seok, S. Korean Defense Ministry spokesman, said, "The DPRK always threatens us every year before kicking off the Key Resolve Exercise, but we conduct the exercise as planned with a disinterested attitude toward the threat. "

South Korea's K-21 armoured vehicles cross a river during a winter military drill in Yeoju, east of Seoul, on February 8, in preparation for a possible North Korean attack.

The US and South Korea will also hold a field training exercise "Foal Eagle" between March 1-April 30, with South Korean personnel and 11,000 U. S. troops engaged in ground, air, naval and other operations.

In response, the DPRK's official, Korean Central News Agency, issued a commentary on Monday calling the drills "an unpardonable infringement upon the sovereignty and dignity of the DPRK.

It also urged the United States and South Korea to "ponder the catastrophic consequences of their reckless military provocations."

The KCNA reported Sunday that the DPRK's new leader - Kim Jong Un - inspected front-line artillery units, and that the 4th Army Corps in the country's Southwest has been put on heightened alert.