US and South Korean warships and helicopters took part in joint anti-submarine maneuvers off the Korean Peninsula yesterday that officers said they hope would serve as a warning to Pyongyang that aggression in the region would not be tolerated.
An international investigation has blamed the North for the sinking of a South Korean warship, killing 46 sailors in what officials called the worst military attack on the South since the Korean War.
The four-day “Invincible Spirit” exercises involving 20 ships, 200 aircraft and about 8,000 US and South Korean sailors are being held in the waters off Korea’s east coast have brought threats of retaliation from North Korea, which denies responsibility for the Cheonan attack.
The anti-submarine phase of the training — which also involves anti-ship and anti-aircraft operations — is particularly important because an international investigation found that the Cheonan was sunk by a torpedo launched from a North Korean submarine that somehow penetrated South Korea’s defenses.
“North Korea’s danger lies because they are unpredictable,” said Captain David Lausman, the commanding officer of the USS George Washington, a nuclear-powered carrier deployed to the maneuvers from its home port in Japan. “The sinking of the Cheonan is a prime example.”
North Korea has protested the exercises, saying they are a provocation and is threatening retaliation. In flourishes of rhetoric typical of the regime, it vowed to respond with a “sacred war” and a “powerful nuclear deterrence.”
“They will face a costly consequence if they stick to the criminal activities ravaging peace and security on the Korean Peninsula,” North Korea’s main Rodong Sinmun said in commentary carried yesterday by the official Korean Central News Agency.
North Korea says the investigation results were fabricated and has accused Washington of attempting to punish it.
Pyongyang’s hetoric was seen by most as bluster: South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense said it had not observed any significant moves by the North Korean military since the maneuvers began on Sunday.
US officials say that the maneuvers, held well away from North Korea’s border, are not intended to provoke a response, but add that they do want to send Pyongyang a message that further aggression in the region will not be tolerated and that the alliance between the US and South Korea remains strong.
US Navy Commander Ray Hesser, head of an anti-submarine helicopter squadron on the George Washington, said North Korean submarines are largely restricted to shallow, coastal waters.
“We’re not expecting to see them out here,” he said. “I would not think they would be willing or wanting to come all the way out here.”
The deployment of the carrier was also raising eyebrows in China — which was believed to have been concerned about having the carrier operate too close to its own shores. In an apparent bow to Beijing, there are no plans for the George Washington to enter the Yellow Sea for subsequent drills with South Korea, though it is taking part in the East Sea training.
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