The maritime and air readiness exercise, dubbed “Invincible Spirit,” included antisubmarine drills, naval live-fire exercises, aerial training and computer-based simulation drills.
Some of the allies’ core military assets, including the aircraft carrier USS George Washington and four F-22 stealth fighter jets, were mobilized in a display of their combined military might against the North that the allies hold responsible for the March sinking of the corvette Cheonan.
“This joint exercise has sent a strong warning regarding the North Korean provocation and presented a firm resolve of the South Korea-U.S. alliance not to tolerate any kind of (future) provocations,” Rear Admiral Kim Kyung-sik, assistant chief of staff at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters.
“The exercise, which covered a variety of operational facets, presented the combined operational posture to prepare against the enemy’s asymmetrical provocation and for a full-scale war. We also engaged in drills to deal with infiltrations and attacks by all types of North Korean submarines.”
The joint exercise focused particularly on antisubmarine maneuvers as it was arranged following the naval disaster that took the lives of 46 sailors. A Seoul-led multinational team concluded in May that the 1,200-ton vessel was torpedoed by a North Korean submarine. The North denies its culpability.
Upon the beginning of the exercise, the North threatened to “open a retaliatory holy war.” According to the U.S.-funded Radio Free Asia, the North has put its military and people on heightened alert.
The exercise was initially reported to take place in the West Sea where the Cheonan sank. However, apparently considering China’s strong objections, the allies decided to hold the exercise in the East Sea.
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