South Korea, U.S. To Conduct Joint Military Exercise

South Korea, U.S. To Conduct Joint Military Exercise (NSI News Source Info) February 19, 2009: South Korea and the United States will conduct a joint military exercise in March, the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC) said Wednesday.South Korean Army tanks move on a temporary bridge to cross a river during a winter season military exercise against a possible attack from North Korea in Pocheon, about 46 km (28 miles) northeast of Seoul, February 17, 2009. Speaking a day after Pyongyang said it had the right to launch a long-range missile, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said such a test would be "very unhelpful" and that Washington was watching very closely to see if North Korea ends its "provocative" actions.

According to the CFC, the U.S. military will mobilize a total of 26,000 troops during the March 9-20 exercise to test its ability to quickly deploy forces in case of invasion to South Korea. Among the 26,000 U.S. troops, 12,000 will come from the U.S. forces stationed in South Korea while the rest 14,000 will be deployed from abroad, the CFC said. South Korea's Yonhap News Agency said that the U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington, stationed in Yokohama, Japan, will take part in the exercise. The CFC didn't mention how many South Korean troops will participate in the drill. It stressed at a news release that the exercise is "defense-oriented, focusing on military readiness posture." The U.S. military side has notified Pyongyang of the exercise but has yet to receive a response, the CFC said. About 28,500 U.S. troops are currently stationed in South Korea.