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View Full Version : U.S. drills in South Korea trigger ‘nuclear war’ warning from North




Zippyjuan
12-04-2017, 01:39 PM
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/north-korea/u-s-drills-south-korea-trigger-nuclear-war-warning-north-n826176


Two dozen U.S. stealth jets were among hundreds of aircraft involved in war games in South Korea on Monday intended as a show of strength to neighboring North Korea.

Dubbed Vigilant Ace, the annual military drills come amid heightened tensions in the region triggered by Kim Jong Un's missile and nuclear tests and the ratcheting up of rhetoric from both sides.

A total of 230 planes will fly from eight locations in South Korea, the Air Force said in a statement.

The Navy and Marine Corps were also participating in what was described as "a realistic air combat exercise" designed to improve the technical cooperation between the American and South Korean militaries. About 12,000 U.S. military personnel are involved.




North Korea described the exercises as a "grave provocation," claiming in its state-run media Monday that they could escalate the situation "to the brink of nuclear war."

Pyongyang said Vigilant Ace was being staged at a time "when insane President Trump is running wild" and it also condemned South Korea as "puppet war maniacs."

The Air Force said the exercises were "not in response to any incident or provocation" and pointed out that the U.S. and South Korea engage in war games every year.

But this latest round, which runs until Friday, comes less than one week after North Korea's latest test of what appeared to be an intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM.

However, any long-range nuclear weapon would still need a robust re-entry vehicle, a lightweight warhead and accurate guidance systems, elements Kim's regime has not publicly demonstrated.

Experts are unsure exactly how close Kim is to achieving his goal, and many believe he wants the weapons to deter the U.S. from trying to topple his regime, rather than to strike them without provocation.

North Korea has said in public statements that it wants an official end to the Korean War. The conflict was halted by a 1953 armistice but no peace treaty has been signed. It also wants nothing short of full normalization of relations with the U.S. and to be treated with respect and as an equal in the global arena.