South Korea, U.S. begin war games

South Korean and U.S. forces began their annual war games Monday, less than a month after a joint military drill in the East Sea, irking North Korea and China. 

This year’s “Ulchi Freedom Guardian” exercises include anti-terrorism drills to prepare for a successful Seoul G20 summit in November as well as crisis control practices against North Korea’s asymmetric threats such as nuclear weapons, missiles, submarines and special forces, five months after the North sank a South Korean naval vessel. 

President Lee Myung-bak called for an intensive training, describing Ulchi as “a peacekeeping exercise aimed at deterring war.”

“Despite being an annual event, the Ulchi drill could make people nervous as it comes amid high tensions between the Koreas since the Cheonan’s sinking,” Lee said during a Cabinet meeting Monday.