 
CHANNELS SPACEWAR WIRE MILITARY SPACE UAV NEWS MILITARY COMMS CYBERWARS MISSILE NEWS RAYGUNS TERRORWARS SPACEDAILY TERRADAILY MARSDAILY SPACE TRAVEL SPACEMART SPACE DATABASE  SERVICES |  
US and South Korean troops launched massive joint military exercises Monday as part of annual war games designed to deter Stalinist North Korea, officials said. The week-long exercise included part of the US troops based here, 5,000 US soldiers from abroad and South Korean military contingents, as well as a US aircraft carrier backed by cruisers and destroyers. The annual exercise, called RSOI/FE 04, focuses on a mock battle aimed at evaluating command capabilities to receive US forces from abroad. Hundreds of thousands of South Korean troops are mobilized every year for anti-commando operations and computer war games but South Korea refused to disclose the number of soldiers taking part in this year's drills. US authorities also maintained low-key publicity on the exercise due to a strong backlash from North Korea, which has reacted nervously to any US-South Korea joint drills amid the impasse over its nuclear weapons programs. In an angry commentary Sunday, the North's goverment newspaper Minju Josun described the exercise as a "dangerous saber-rattling row to round off war preparations for a preemptive attack" on North Korea. "It is the temperament of the army and the people of the DPRK (North Korea) to retaliate against provocation and return fire for fire," it warned. US authorities say the exercise is purely defensive and designed to improve the ability of allied forces to defend South Korea against external aggression. The 1950-53 Korean War ended in a fragile armistice and the Korean peninsula remains the world's last Cold War frontier with nearly two million troops ready for combat either side of the tense frontier. The exercise comes as South Korea and the United States are locked in talks on the relocation of some 37,000 US troops stationed here under a mutual defense pact. The realignment includes a plan to relocate a 15,000-member US infantry division from the frontline with North Korea to bases south of Seoul. The presence of US troops in South Korean has been a source of anti-American protests, while conservative groups have opposed any changes to long-standing security ties with the United States. US troops are seen as deterring North Korea's 1.1 million strong army, and their departure would make Seoul, which is just 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the border with North Korea, more vulnerable to artillery attacks. All rights reserved. Copyright 2003 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse. Quick Links
|
|
| The contents herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2002 - SpaceDaily. AFP Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |