A file picture on a sea drill by South Korean warships. [Yonhap News Photo]
A nuclear-power aircraft carrier led a major joint sea exercise involving dozens of US and South Korean warships and submarines Monday around the Korean peninsula in a show of force against possible provocations by North Korea, military authorities said.
The exercise codenamed "Invincible Spirit" will run through October 15, with the US side deploying a fleet of ships led by the USS Ronald Reagan. South Korea mobilized about 40 ships. Jet fighters, surveillance planes and helicopters from both sides would participate in various maritime drills.
The South's Navy said the joint exercise was aimed at sending a strong message that the allies would take strong retaliatory steps against any North Korean provocations.
The exercise came as Pyongyang marked the founding anniversary of its ruling Workers' Party Monday amid high cross-border tensions caused by a series of nuclear and missile tests that invited tough UN sanctions this year.
On September 9, Pyongyang claimed to have conducted a successful nuclear warhead explosion test aimed at acquiring technology for the production of diversified and miniaturized nuclear warheads to be carried by strategic missiles. It was the strongest-ever detonation carried out at North Korea's northeastern test site in Punggye-ri.
Aju News Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunnews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
