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Carrier leads joint US-Korean drills
NUCLEAR WAR?: North Korea promised a devastating ¡¥physical response¡¦ to the
military exercise, although experts say Pyongyang can¡¦t deliver nuclear warheads
AP , ABOARD USS GEORGE WASHINGTON
Monday, Jul 26, 2010, Page 1
A deck crew member checks on EA-6B Prowlers on
the USS George Washington during joint military drills in South Korea¡¦s East Sea
yesterday.
PHOTO: AP
A nuclear-powered US supercarrier led an armada of warships in exercises off the
Korean peninsula yesterday that North Korea has vowed to physically block and
says could escalate into nuclear war.
US military officials said the maneuvers, conducted with South Korean ships and
Japanese observers, were intended to send a strong signal to the North that
aggression in the region would not be tolerated.
Tensions on the Korean peninsula have been particularly high since the sinking
in March of a South Korean naval vessel. Forty-six Korean sailors were killed in
the sinking, which Seoul has called Pyongyang¡¦s worst military attack on it
since the 1950 to 1953 Korean War.
The military drills, code-named ¡§Invincible Spirit,¡¨ are to run through
Wednesday with about 8,000 US and South Korean troops, 20 ships and submarines
and 200 aircraft. The Nimitz-class USS George Washington was deployed from
Japan.
¡§We are showing our resolve,¡¨ said Captain David Lausman, the carrier¡¦s
commanding officer.
North Korea has protested the drills, threatening to retaliate with ¡§nuclear
deterrence¡¨ and ¡§sacred war.¡¨
The North routinely threatens attacks whenever South Korea and the US hold joint
military drills, which Pyongyang sees as a rehearsal for an invasion. The US
keeps 28,500 troops in South Korea and another 50,000 in Japan, but says it has
no intention of invading the North.
Still, the North¡¦s latest rhetoric carries extra weight following the sinking of
the Cheonan.
Captain Ross Myers, the commander of the carrier¡¦s air wing, said the exercises
were not intended to raise tensions, but acknowledged they are meant to get
North Korea¡¦s attention.
The George Washington, one of the biggest ships in the US Navy, is a potent
symbol of US military power, with about 5,000 sailors and aviators and the
capacity to carry up to 70 planes.
¡§North Korea may contend that it is a provocation, but I would say the
opposite,¡¨ he said. ¡§It is a provocation to those who don¡¦t want peace and
stability. North Korea doesn¡¦t want this. They know that one of South Korea¡¦s
strengths is its alliance with the United States.¡¨
He said North Korea¡¦s threats to retaliate were being taken seriously.
¡§There is a lot they can do,¡¨ he said. ¡§They have ships, they have subs, they
have airplanes. They are a credible threat.¡¨
The exercises are the first in a series of US-South Korean maneuvers to be
conducted in the East Sea off South Korea¡¦s east coast and in the Yellow Sea
closer to China¡¦s shores in international waters. The exercises also are the
first to employ the F-22 stealth fighter ¡X which can evade North Korean air
defenses ¡X in South Korea.
South Korea was closely monitoring North Korea¡¦s military, but spotted no
unusual activity yesterday, the Defense Ministry said.
North Korea, which denies any involvement in the sinking of the Cheonan, warned
the US against holding the drills.
¡§Our military and people will squarely respond to the nuclear war preparation by
the American imperialists and the South Korean puppet regime with our powerful
nuclear deterrent,¡¨ the North¡¦s government-run Minju Joson newspaper said in a
commentary yesterday headlined, ¡§We also have nuclear weapons.¡¨
The commentary was carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.
The North¡¦s powerful National Defense Commission issued a similar threat on
Saturday, saying the country ¡§will start a retaliatory sacred war.¡¨ Its Foreign
Ministry separately said on Saturday that Pyongyang was considering ¡§powerful
physical measures¡¨ in response to the US military drills and sanctions.
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