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South Korea begins war games with US, plans drills on Dokdo Islands amid Japan trade spat
- The war games with Washington come days after North Korea tested a series of short-range projectiles, calling them a ‘solemn warning’ to Seoul
- South Korea is also considering going ahead with annual maritime exercises near a set of disputed islands that risk adding to trade tensions with Tokyo
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Seoul and Washington began annual joint military exercises on Monday, defying warnings from Pyongyang that the war games will jeopardise nuclear negotiations between the United States and North Korea.
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South Korea is also considering going ahead with its twice-yearly maritime drills near a group of islands that it and Japan have competing claims over, Yonhap news agency reported, despite escalating trade tensions with Tokyo.
The war games with Washington this week come after Pyongyang tested a series of short-range projectiles in recent days, calling one of them a “solemn warning” to Seoul against pursuing the mainly computer-simulated drills with the US.
South Korean defence minister Jeong Kyeong-doo told parliament that the joint exercise began on Monday, adding that Seoul was “clearly maintaining its readiness posture against any military action by North Korea”.
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Details about the training have not been disclosed, but a ministry official in Seoul said this year’s exercise will include verifying South Korea’s abilities to take operational control in wartime. Under a security treaty between the US and South Korea, an American general is to take command of their combined forces in the event of armed conflict, but Seoul has long sought to reverse that position.
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