Korea

South Korea, Great Satan US kick off joint military drill

352008_US-Korea-drillSouth Korea and the United States have kicked off a controversial annual military drill near the Korean Peninsula amid opposition from North Korea.

The maneuvers, dubbed Key Resolve and Foal Eagle, will involve nearly 13,000 American forces and some 200,000 South Korean troops.

The Key Resolve maneuver will last for over a week and is a largely computer-simulated exercise, while the eight-week Foal Eagle drill involves air, ground and naval field training.

Pyongyang has long denounced these maneuvers as a provocative “rehearsal for invasion,” calling for them to be called off to avoid military tensions between South and North Korea and improve bilateral relations.

South Korea has rejected the calls by its northern neighbor, insisting that the joint drill will go ahead as planned, though reportedly on a smaller scale.

South Korea and the United States have repeatedly said that the military exercise is “defensive” in nature.

Last year’s drill fuelled tensions, with Pyongyang threatening a pre-emptive nuclear strike and US stealth bombers flying over the peninsula.

The drill this year coincides with the reunion of families separated by the Korean War some six decades ago.

So far, North Korea has not issued any official statement. However, Pyongyang had previously threatened to cancel the reunions if the exercises went ahead.

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