South Korea and US to hold new drills

South Korea and the United States are to go ahead with a joint military exercise on the west coast of the Korean Peninsula, officials say.

According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff and the US military in Seoul, the drills, scheduled to begin on Sunday, will involve over 17,000 American and South Korean troops.

The exercises will be the second in a series of joint maneuvers the two countries have planned in the area.

US military officials claim the drills are a response to the sinking of a South Korean warship in March that has been blamed on North Korea.

Pyongyang has denied any involvement in the sinking. It has threatened retaliation over the new US-South Korean exercise.

“Our military and people will deal a merciless blow if warmongers stage reckless provocation,” North Korea’s state-run website, Uriminzokkiri, said in a commentary on Friday.

China has also voiced opposition to the US-South Korean joint exercises, arguing that such drills contribute to heightening tensions in the Korean peninsula and neglect Chinese opposition to foreign military maneuvers off its coasts.