US and South Korea launches major joint air force exercise

Asia-Pacific, News April 10, 2015 , by IRIA No Comments

The United States and South Korea have launched a major joint air force exercise near the border with North Korea amid growing tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

The South Korean Air force said on Friday that around 1,400 servicemen from both countries will be taking part in the two-week-long drill named “Max Thunder” drill.

Sources say the drill will also involve around 100 military aircraft, including jet fighters and bombers.

The war games come as US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter is visiting the troubled region to reassure close allies about the American military support.

Carter held talks Friday morning with South Korean President Park Geun-Hye and was due to meet Defense Minister Han Min-Koo later in the day.

South Korea’s President Park Geun-Hye (R) shakes hands with US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter before their meeting at the presidential Blue House in Seoul on April 10, 2015 (AFP photo)

Washington is also pushing to deploy a ballistic missile defense system, known as THAAD, in South Korea. China and Russia have warned that the deployment of the system on the Korean peninsula would undermine regional stability.

The United States has close to 30,000 troops permanently stationed in South Korea.

In recent years, South Korea has conducted several joint military drills with the United States on the Korean Peninsula despite condemnation from Pyongyang.

Pyongyang wants South Korea to cancel all military drills with the US if Seoul is sincere about improving relations.

In the past years, the land and sea borders between the two countries have seen a number of minor skirmishes involving exchanges of fire, but with no reported casualties.

F-16 Falcons and A-10 Thunderbolt of the 51st Tactical Fighter Wing flying in formation over their home base, Osan in South Korea. U.S. Air Force photo/Lt. Col. Judd Fancher

The Korean Peninsula has been locked in a cycle of military rhetoric since the Korean War, which lasted from 1950 to 1953. No peace deal has been signed since then, meaning that Pyongyang and Seoul remain technically at war.

North Korea accuses President Obama of plotting with regional allies to topple the government in Pyongyang. North Korea says it will not relinquish its nuclear deterrence unless the United States ends its hostile policy toward Pyongyang and dissolves the US-led UN command in South Korea.

JR/NN/HMV