US carrier, S Korea warships start new drills amid tensions

Seoul, October 7

The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan launched a new round of naval drills with South Korean warships on Friday, a day after North Korea fired more ballistic missiles and flew warplanes in an escalation of tensions with its rivals.

The Reagan and its battle group returned to the waters near the Korean peninsula after North Korea earlier this week launched a nuclear-capable missile over Japan in response to the carrier group’s earlier training with South Korean navy ships. North Korea views US-South Korean military exercises as a practice to invade the country.

The latest two-day drills, which also involve US and South Korean destroyers and other ships, were taking place in international waters off the peninsula’s east coast. The drills are aimed at bolstering the allies’ defence capabilities and will involve training to escort the Reagan southeast of South Korea’s southern island of Jeju, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

“We will continue to strengthen our firm operational capabilities and readiness to respond to any provocations by North Korea,” the statement said.

North Korea may react to the new drills with more missile tests. The North’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday the carrier group’s redeployment poses “a serious threat to the stability of the situation on the Korean Peninsula and in its vicinity”. North Korea’s record pace of weapons testing this year is intended to expand its arsenal so that it can credibly threaten the US mainland and regional allies with nuclear arms, then engage in negotiations with the US from a stronger position as a recognised nuclear state. Its two ballistic missile launches on Thursday were the North’s sixth round of weapons firings in less than two weeks. — AP