[ US-South Korea Conduct Military Drills - NTDTV ]
Joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea are expected to be approved next week, despite Chinese opposition, when U.S. secretary of state and the Defense secretary visit South Korea.Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell, said on Wednesday that the air and naval exercises would “send a clear message of deterrence” to North Korea over the sinking of a South Korean warship that killed 46 sailors last March.
An international investigation prompted by the incident concluded that a North Korean torpedo had caused the ship to sink. The North has strongly denied any allegations and has warned that any punitive sanctions would trigger war.
“We are not yet ready to announce the precise details of those exercises, but they will involve a wide range of assets and are expected to be initiated in the near future,” Morrell said.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates will meet with their South Korean counterparts on July 21.
The planned military exercises in the Yellow Sea have elicited harsh criticism from China, which strongly objects o the exercises.
“This is a matter of our ability to exercise in open seas, in international waters. Those determinations are made by us and us alone,” said Morrell.
