*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media
(NSI News Source Info) SEOUL, South Korea - July 26, 2009: The United States and South Korea are set to hold a joint military exercise next month amid mounting tension in the Korean peninsula. A US military statement said on Friday that the exercise will involve "10,000 US soldiers and an unspecified number" of South Korean troops.
U.S. soldiers on a military vehicle move in front of an AH-64D Apache attack helicopter of 4th Aviation Attack Battalion 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade at a U.S. air base in Gunsan, about 270 km (168 miles) south of Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, July 21, 2009.
The 10-day long maneuver is scheduled to take place on August 17-27. US military sources noted that the drill also involves "computer-simulated war games designed to improve the allies' ability" to defend the South from any possible attack in the volatile region.
Kim Yong-kyu, a US Forces Korea (USFK) spokesman told reporters that North Korea was "notified this morning of the August exercises."
Pyongyang regularly denounces such exercises as preparations for a US invasion of North Korea. Tension increased on the peninsula after the North conducted its second nuclear test in May. Pyongyang insists that its nuclear program is a deterrent against US forces in the region and accuses US President Barack Obama of plotting with regional allies to topple the communist regime.
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