Allies set for military drills amid N. Korea's missile threats

SEOUL, March 8 (Yonhap) -- Tension on the divided Korean Peninsula is expected to
escalate further this week, as South Korea and the United States plan to kick off
their joint military exercise as scheduled, despite a series of North Korean
threats.
In general-level talks with the U.S.-led United Nations forces here last week,
North Korea called for the allies to cancel the Key Resolve and Foal Eagle
drills, scheduled to begin on Monday for a 12-day run. North Korea views the
annual event as a preparation for attack, while South Korea and the U.S. say it
is purely defensive.
North Korea announced last month that it was preparing for a rocket launch. The
communist regime even threatened South Korean commercial jets flying near its
east coast, saying it can't guarantee their safety during the large-scale
military training, which will draw about 12,000 U.S. troops stationed here and
14,000 from outside the peninsula, along with a huge number of South Korean
troops.
The Key Resolve exercise, formerly known as RSOI (Reception, Staging, Onward
Movement and Integration), is a simulation-driven, defense-oriented combined
command-post exercise aimed at upgrading the allied forces' capability to receive
forces from bases outside the country in case of an emergency on the peninsula.
Foal Eagle, a theater-wide combined field exercise, will be simultaneously held.
It involves massive joint field exercises, including rear area security and
stability operations, special operations, ground maneuvers, amphibious operations
and combat air operations.
The U.S. said it plans to mobilize a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the USS
John C. Stennis (CVN-74), of the U.S. Navy's 3rd Fleet and a few Aegis destroyers
for the exercises.
The 97,00-ton aircraft carrier transports dozens of F/A-18 Hornet, EA-6B Prowler
and E-2 Hawkeye aircraft, as well as MH-60R and MH-60S helicopters. Its top speed
is in excess of 30 knots.
"The drills are aimed at improving the capability of the combined forces to
defend South Korea from outside attack," said an official at the South Korea-U.S.
Combined Forces Command in Seoul.
The South Korean military authorities said they will bolster the country's
defense posture during the training period to cope with North Korea's possible
firing of a missile or coastline artillery or an armed clash in the demilitarized
zone.
"We will tighten the vigil against North Korea's probable provocation, taking
advantage of all intelligence assets of South Korea and the U.S.," a defense
ministry official said.
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