The United States and South Korea on Monday began joint military exercises on the eastern coast of the Korean peninsula in a show of strength against North Korean nuclear threats.
The exercise is the first joint training between the two countries in five years and comes a day after North Korea test-fired a short-range ballistic missile.
The South Korean Navy said in a statement that the training, which included a four-day exercise, was intended to demonstrate the allies’ “powerful resolve to respond to North Korean provocations”.
More than 20 US and South Korean Navy ships, including the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, an American cruiser, and South Korean and American destroyers, were mobilized for the exercise. The Navy said US and South Korean fighter jets and helicopters were also used.
The four days mark the first joint exercise involving a US aircraft carrier off the peninsula since 2017, when the US re-sent three carriers, including the Reagan, for drills amid North Korean threats.
The Allies have since canceled or curtailed some of their regular training, but resumed them because of North Korea’s recent missile activity.
North Korea has tested a record number of missiles this year as its government rejected US and South Korean calls to resume nuclear diplomacy. North Korean leaders said they would not back down on ceasefire talks until the US lifts sanctions and military aid on South Korea. ,
The missile, which North Korea launched on Sunday, flew about 370 miles at a maximum altitude of 37 miles before falling into the waters off the north’s east coast, according to South Korean research.
With post wires.