SKorea, US keep up military show for NKorea

By Alex Jensen

SEOUL

Waters east of the Korean Peninsula were alive with South Korean and American naval vessels and aircraft Monday, as the allies put on a show of force in the wake of recent North Korean threats.

The military exercise was conducted outside the usual annual drills that have consistently provoked angry responses from Pyongyang in the past.

North Korea often blames the United States’ regional presence -- with nearly 30,000 troops in the South alone -- for its development of nuclear weapons in defiance of several United Nations resolutions.

In addition to its most powerful nuclear test to date earlier this month, the North has also carried out a series of ballistic missile tests from land and submarine this year.

With analysts speculating about when rather than if North Korea will pose a realistic threat to the U.S. mainland, Monday's allied drill involved both anti-missile and anti-submarine hardware.

A joint naval statement explained that it was their first joint operation apart from routine exercises.

"We are by their side today at sea, and we will remain by their side to defend against North Korea's unprovoked acts of aggression," stated U.S. Naval Forces Korea commander Rear Adm. Brad Cooper.

It follows last week's arrival in the South of a nuclear-capable B-1B bomber.

The American supersonic aircraft returned to its usual station two hours away in Guam on Sunday, according to a defense ministry official cited by local news agency Yonhap.

There have been calls from some lawmakers within South Korea for indigenous nuclear development, but so far Seoul has remained committed to denuclearizing the peninsula under the protective umbrella provided by the U.S., which backed Seoul during the 1950-53 Korean War.