US and South Korea Announce Joint Naval Drill
Add bookmark
November 24, 2010
The United States and South Korea are to launch a joint naval exercise at the weekend, amid heightened tensions after North Korea shelled a South Korean island.
The command of U.S. forces in South Korea said that the exercise was planned before the attack by North Korea on November 23, which left two South Korean soldiers dead.
But a statement said the drill would demonstrate the U.S. commitment to its South Korean ally.
A nuclear-powered U.S. aircraft carrier -- the USS George Washington -- would join the exercise with South Korea from November 28 to December 1.
In a telephone call late on November 23, President Barack Obama told his South Korean counterpart Lee Myung-bak that the United States stands "shoulder to shoulder" with its ally.
Earlier, Obama said North Korea is an "ongoing threat that needs to be dealt with."
The North Korean firing on Yeonpyeong island triggered an exchange of fire, in one of the most serious border clashes between North and South Korea in decades.
