S. Korea, U.S. begin military drill amid N. Korea threats

By Sam Kim
SEOUL, March 9 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States kicked off one of
their largest joint annual military exercises on Monday amid fears North Korea
may test-fire a long-range ballistic missile in protest.
The Key Resolve and Foal Eagle exercise, which mobilizes 26,000 U.S. troops, a
nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and tens of thousands of South Korean soldiers,
has been dubbed by North Korea as a prelude to war.
The drill, slated to end on March 20, is genuinely defensive, its organizers say,
even though the North warned of "consequences" during two rounds of general-level
talks with the U.S.-led U.N. Command last week.
North Korea has also affirmed that it will launch what it calls a communications
satellite as part of its space development project. Neighbors believe it could be
a cover for a Taepodong-2 missile technically capable of hitting Alaska.
A spokesman for the North's general staff said Monday his country will retaliate
against any attempt to intercept its rocket by mobilizing "the most powerful
military means," arguing such a move would "precisely mean a war."
On Thursday, the North said through its official media that it would not
guarantee the safety of South Korean passenger planes flying over its eastern
waters as long as the exercise remains effective.
Korean Air and Asiana Airlines -- the nation's two largest airlines --
immediately rerouted their flights.
The exercise coincides with a visit to South Korea by the new U.S. special envoy
on North Korea, Stephen Bosworth, who bluntly appealed on Saturday for Pyongyang
to return to dialogue and stop raising tension.
The two countries remain deadlocked in six-nation aid-for-denuclearization talks
that also include South Korea, China, Japan and Russia.
The North is refusing to accept a U.S. proposal aimed at inspecting its past
atomic activities, contending that the U.S. has secretly deployed nuclear arms in
South Korea and calling for simultaneous inspections.
The U.S. says the verification in the South was done nearly two decades ago.
North Korea shocked the world in October 2006 when it conducted its first known
atomic test, just months after it test-fired a Taepodong-2 missile that has an
estimated range of over 6,700 kilometers.
The rocket crashed soon after takeoff, outside officials say, and the model
requires further sophistication to be tipped with a nuclear warhead. North Korea
is believed to have extracted plutonium worth several nuclear bombs.
A Seattle-based private think tank said last week the North may decide to go
ahead with a second nuclear test to move itself up the list of foreign policy
priorities being sorted out by U.S. President Barack Obama.
"The new administration and Congress should not be surprised if Pyongyang
precipitates a crisis, perhaps in the near term," the National Bureau of Asian
Research said in a report.
The Key Resolve and Foal Eagle exercise is aimed at strengthening the
capabilities of the allies to quickly reinforce frontline forces should North
Korea invade the South, according to its organizers.
About 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea -- a legacy of the 1950-53
Korean War that ended in a truce that is monitored by the U.N. Command -- and
12,000 of them will take part in the exercise.
About 14,000 will join them from overseas, testing a war plan in which hundreds
of thousands of U.S. troops are deployed to the Korean Peninsula to fend off
North Korea's 1.2 million troops.
The combined exercise, the largest along with the Ulchi Freedom Guardian drill in
summer, also focuses on deterring possible North Korean rear infiltration.
The drill will take place across South Korea, with the USS John C. Stennis
aircraft carrier and a fleet of Aegis destroyers backing the operations.
The exercise is also aimed at facilitating the transition of the wartime
operational control of 655,000 South Korean troops from the top American
commander here to Seoul.
South Korea relinquished the control during the Korean War, with peacetime
control returned in 1994. The wartime control is set to be restored in April
2012.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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