Allies to hold joint naval drills in West Sea

South Korea and the United States agreed to stage anti-submarine training drillsnear the tense inter-Korean sea border later this month, a Seoul official said Saturday, in strong response to North Korea’s naval attack that killed dozens of South Korean sailors in March.

The longstanding allies reached the agreement during the newest round of their regular security talks held in Washington Friday and will further discuss the details of the large-scale drills which may also include a U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the official here said.

“The two sides are positively discussing the matter of mobilizing the aircraft carrier. Actual plans will be set up after more discussions,” he said, dubbing the drills a “defensive action” against North Korea’s provocation.

Seoul and Washington are moving up the date of the drills -- which was originally slated for fall -- and plan to stage them closer to the maritime border with North Korea to express their determination to head off any further provocations by the communist state blamed for the March 26 sinking of a South Korean warship.

A multinational team of experts concluded last month that Pyongyang torpedoed the naval corvette, taking the lives of 46 young South Korean sailors. North Korea continues to deny its role and has threatened an “all-out war” for any punitive measures.

North Korea sees the naval drills as a “preparation of war” and its former communist ally China is also strongly opposed to the drills as they are held in the waters close to its territory.

During the Friday Security Policy Initiative talks, attended by Chang Gwang-il of Seoul’s Defense Ministry and Michael Schiffer, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia, the two allies also discussed follow-up measures regarding the delay of Seoul’s retaking of the wartime command of its troops from Washington, officials here said.

South Korea and the United States agreed late last month to delay the transfer of wartime operational control to December 2015, reflecting growing security concerns here following North Korea’s torpedo attack. Seoul was originally slated to take back the control in April 2012.

South Korea voluntarily handed over the OPCON of its military to Washington following the 1950-53 Korean War, during which the U.S. fought on its side. In 1994, peacetime control was handed back to
South Korea, but wartime control remains in the hands of the top U.S. commander here.

The U.S. maintains some 28,500 troops stationed here mainly to support defense against the communist North Korea.

Friday’s session of the SPI talks, held regularly since 2005, came as the U.N. Security Council adopted a presidential statement condemning North Korea for the March naval attack. It did not, however, directly blame Pyongyang for the deadly incident.

Detailed results of the SPI talks will be revealed during the “two-plus-two” meeting of the foreign and defense ministers of the two countries, slated for July 21 in Seoul.