The United States and South Korea went ahead with large-scale joint aerial drills on Monday, a move North Korea had said would push the Korean peninsula to “the brink of nuclear war,” ignoring calls from Russia and China to call them off.
The drills come a week after North Korea said it had tested its most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the United States as part of a weapons program that it has conducted in defiance of international sanctions and condemnation.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said it was “regrettable” that all parties had not “grasped the window of opportunity” presented by two months of relative calm before the North’s most recent test.
China and Russia had proposed that the United States and South Korea stop major military exercises in exchange for North Korea halting its weapons programs. Beijing formally calls the idea the “dual suspension” proposal.
The annual US-South Korean drill, called Vigilant Ace, will run until Friday, with six F-22 Raptor stealth fighters to be deployed among the more than 230 aircraft taking part.
North Korea’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country called US President Donald Trump “insane” on Sunday and said the drills would “push the already acute situation on the Korean peninsula to the brink of nuclear war”.
F-35 fighters will also join the drills, which will include the largest number of 5th generation fighters ever to have taken part, according to a South Korea-based US Air Force spokesman.
Around 12,000 US service members, including from the Marines and Navy, will join South Korean troops. Aircraft taking part will be flown from eight US and South Korean military installations.
South Korean media reports said B-1B Lancer bombers could join the exercise this week. The US Air Force spokesman could not confirm the reports.
Trump said last week that additional major sanctions would be imposed on North Korea after Pyongyang’s intercontinental ballistic missile test.
Earlier last month, Trump put North Korea back on a list of state sponsors of terrorism, a designation that allows the United States to impose more sanctions.
Russia has accused the United States of trying to provoke North Korean leader Kim Jong Un into “flying off the handle” over his missile program to hand Washington a pretext to destroy his country.
Speaking at a news briefing in Beijing, Wang said China consistently opposed any behavior that elevated tensions.
“And measures that don’t abide by or are outside the UN Security Council resolutions lack basis in international law and damage the rights of United Nations members,” Wang said when asked about the prospect of further US sanctions against North Korea.
China’s Air Force said on Monday that its surveillance aircraft had in recent days conducted drills in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea to “improve combat-readiness and safeguard the country’s strategic interests”.
The aircraft took a flight path not previously flown to regions they had never previously operated in, and coordinated with fighter jets, alert aircraft and guided missile forces, spokesman Shen Jinke said, according to a post on the Air Force’s official microblog.
The joint exercises between South Korea and the United States are designed to enhance readiness and operational capability and to ensure peace and security on the Korean peninsula, the US military had said before the drills began.
The North’s KCNA state news agency, citing a foreign ministry spokesman, said on Saturday the Trump administration was “begging for nuclear war by staging an extremely dangerous nuclear gamble on the Korean peninsula”.
North Korea regularly uses its state media to threaten the United States and its allies.
North Korea has tested dozens of ballistic missiles and conducted its sixth and largest nuclear bomb test in September, in violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
It has said its weapons programs are a necessary defense against US plans to invade. The United States, which has 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War, denies any such intention.
Reuters
A divided world could trigger Destruction. Especially in the case of failed diplomacy.
Is there really a large scale mil;itary exercise with South Korea when its President Moon has said that there shall be no war ?
US ignorance and show of force since 1953 Korean war has created a stronger North Korea. NK might Hit US like David & Goliath. Victory belongs to God.
Go USA, Lets North Korean People be free
Both Russia and china are behaving in ways that continue to boost the confidence of Kim jon un. However nothing short of war can stop Kim from reaching his ultimate goal of acquiring nuclear arms, and if that happens, both South Korea and japan will not hesitate to develop their own nukes, and that will leave the korean peninsular and the entire south east asia in a vey dangerous situation.
Reversed psychology, China and Russia in pretending to avoid military confrontation between NK and US/Alice’s are actually igniting the war. They never condemned NK’s nuke actions that will forced them to the negotiating table by supporting the economic sanctions imposed to NK. On the contrary, they even assist the Fat Boy militarily and economically to pursue their nuke programs to advance.
US must stop the madness. The world is ours not the us’s
It’s quite unfortunate. China seems to be the Big fish in Asia, but the reality is that if war breaks out in the Korean peninsula, China’s role as the Big Brother of Asia would be lost, as much as its increasing global influence. The only way for growth to take place is if there is relative peace, and this China must pursue to remain globally relevant. If China allows the U.S to invade North Korea, then Asia would be under the control of the U.S. China needs to do more to call the President of North Korea to order, before things escalate. Because when war starts, even Russia would try to save itself than fight for North Korea which they know is a potential threat to them.
US has no guts to attack N. Korea and they know it will lead to a global conflict. If so – why can’t these hypocrets understand that – fire can burn any one (USA or N. Korea or XYZ). How long this stupid drama will last? This could have been different if US would have invested billions of $ in N. Korea, like the S. Korea and Saudi Arabia.
By you post you seem to be the most idiotic person to encourage any kind of ear.
I suggest that this divided world be united and use their armament for a possible asteroid hit
the war is imminent!it will…it will…
Depends which God you believe in!
Howard Banks God is God, and true God is true God. You could be your own god even. NK leader is a god too. Trump ain’t a god anyways’.
human is cruel than animals…………..war is cruelty acts.. so be it, prepared where to escape or how to fight..death is every human destiny anyway!
It think it is you that is ignorant. North Korea doesn’t stand a chance. Do not defend a terrorist and dictator. Better go there before the bombing so you would be eliminated too.
WWW III inevitable?
US-Sokor war drills are for purposes of National defense & security while the Nokor blatantly declared its nuclear program a threat to global security particularly US-Sokor-Japan sovereigns.
why not ask Kim to stop the madness then you won’t need to ask President Trump to stop the madness. The US is only responding to threats against its own citizens by a crazy man who is walking toward total destruction.
Maybe you do not understand the economy of capitalism vs socialism. The US was asked to help South Korea. So it did. Capitalism did the rest for a dynamic growth spurt. N.K on the other hand has never asked the US for help and they chose the path of low economic growth under socialism. It is not the fault of the US, but rather the fault of N,K. for choosing to follow Russia and China instead of the US. One only needs to open their eyes at the difference in living conditions between N.K. and S.K. to understand this fact.
NORTH KORYA BECOMING NOW MAD WITH NUCLEAR WAR HEAD AND MISSIL LIKE CHILDREN GAME ,THE WORLD MUST ALERT FOR BRUSTING FOOLISHNESS PLAY BY N K .
Jun Banaag Mr man, I think you are sick in the head, a moron a nincompoop. Wait, North Korea and US who will be regarded as a terrorist organisation. The terrorist have declared Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, this is to enable them sale arms, test their out dated arms that are becoming inferior to that of Russia. China, North K etc as you can see it from their worry, even formal US naval director during President Reagan attested to this fact.
I warn, no body should want to have a taste of North Korea Nukes tech or do you think US doesn’t know what it is? And why they are dying to stop it? But if US can keep nukes, let everyone keep it. The crisis in the Middle East are caused or backed by US, they gain from wars and pains of other nations etc.
Imagine the same US that claimed to mediate between Israel and Palestine would declare Jerusalem capital of Israel but some idiots will not use their fowl head to know who really is the United States of American criminals!
Jun Banaag, be reminded US is the most dangerous terrorist organisation in the world, didn’t they drop atomic bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Who has done that in the history of mankind, then, is this act of pride or act of terrorism?
US is the super power if the war starts thousands will die including kim if you do not agree look at iraq
Window of opportunity! Fcuk u china & russia. It wad nokor who exploited every window of opportunity. Who defied UN resolutions? It was the fat supreme leader, u madapakahs!
Aondohemba Mnyim you are big fool!
Canada has nukes US has nukes how dangerous is the North american part? Frane has nukes israel has nukes Britain also but how dangerous the europe now bcoz of nukes 0 danger. Why not north korea penosula to nuclearize?
China and Russia failed to convince NK not to built missilles pointing at the U.S.A. , Japan and SK. it gives them the creeps. Better test the treath if it will strike when provoked then smothered it while at infancy stage. The the aliied forces van sleep soundly. China and Russia will benefit too. Who knows someday they too will be treathened by NK with a matured more sophisticated Nuclear arm.
Derick Peter I think the danger is in the attitude of kim Jon Un. His tests are now causing earth quakes, his ambition is perhaps to unify the two koreas by force, and If you are an americam how will you feel about the situation where some one is developing weapons of mass destruction to target your country. The US and canada are not in a state of war, France and britain are not in a state of war, but North Korea
and south Korea are technically in a state of war.Japan also do not veiw North Korea as a friend.
NK has done nothing to usa, remember vietnam ?? NK has been preparing for this war for decades,they will not go down quietly,i wish they could nuke USA ,to give them a taste of their arrogance.
Oghenevwayerhe Henry Ayemere Zini surprised at your position on this issue ,have u 4gotten what imperialists have taken Africans thru ??,I want USA to get a bleeding nose worse than vietnam, infact I want them nuked.
The Moon say he doesn’t want the US to dictate the SK life before election, but knowtow to US pressure when he came to power
Oghenevwayerhe Henry Ayemere Zini fool, do you think the world is like Niger delta where you idiots are born thiefs and criminals in the society? You can not be saying that. Ole. Lazy man.