South Korea and the United States began week-long joint navy drills in the waters around the Korean peninsula on Monday, amid high tensions over North Korea’s nuclear and missile program.
About 40 ships from both countries, including the nuclear-powered USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier, are taking part in the exercises on the east and west coasts of the peninsula from Oct. 16 to Oct. 20, a spokesman for the South’s defence ministry said on Monday.
North Korea has called joint military exercises by the United States and South Korea a “rehearsal for war”.
On Sunday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that President Donald Trump had instructed him to continue diplomatic efforts to calm rising tensions with North Korea, saying “those diplomatic efforts will continue until the first bomb drops.”
Tensions on the Korean peninsula have risen sharply in recent weeks following a series of weapons tests by Pyongyang, including its sixth and most powerful nuclear test on September 3 and two missile launches over Japan.
North Korea is preparing to test a long-range missile which it believes can reach the west coast of the United States, said a Russian lawmaker who returned from a visit to Pyongyang earlier this month.
South Korean intelligence officials and analysts have said that North Korea might time its next provocation to coincide with China’s Communist Party Congress which begins on Wednesday.
Speaking at a military conference in Seoul on Monday, General Terrence J. O’Shaughnessy, commander of the US Pacific Air Force, said North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile development was “truly a threat to us all” and the United States remains poised to defend allies.
“Although countries like North Korea threaten regional peace and security, our allied air power must be ready to respond with rapid, lethal and overwhelming force to respond to preserve our interests,” O’Shaughnessy said.
South Korea (SK) and the US is doing another extremely stupid provocation. They should stop under estimating North Korea (NK). I have considered three different US war scenarios made by the US, they all assume NK will not strike first to defend themselves from US/SK aggression. This is a very naïve assumption. If the NK see massive build ups of personnel, ships, and airplanes, NK will in self-defense strike first. One US General Lt. tried to play down the risk for mass casualties. The General Lt. said ONLY 20.000 South Koreans is likely to lose their life per day if the war restarts! NK has a spy and "sleeper cell" network that will detect a massive build up.
Soul does not understand that US foreign policies in Asia is decided by Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu in Tel Aviv. The Jewish lobby influence in Washington is immense. Israel is shivering of fear NK will sell nukes to Iran. If this is fear is based on intelligence information or only intended for begging purposes for “Bibi” Netanyahu annual beg for money trip to Washington I do not know. What I do know is the US will sacrifice South Korea to protect Israel. SK and Japan should, for their own safety, terminate the military cooperation with the USA.
What can save SK in the short run is if the US attacks Iran. An easier target since Iran have nukes. By annexing Qatar to Saudi Arabia this operation will be a profitable venture the US coalition seem to think.
A war against Iran cannot be won, but air attacks will do a lot of damages and beef up the oil price. The Saudis and UAE has signaled they will support an attack on Iran. We live in a cruel world and the US want war and President Trump need a war to keep his job. Trump approval ratings is below 40%. While we are waiting the rest of the world is passively looking at the Saudi/US genocide on the Yemenis. Thousands of Yemenis get Cholera daily! Shame on us too, for not doing anything to stop it.
Commercial shipping is disrupted. Tankers and large container ships have to avoid the US navy for safety reasons.