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ROK, US kick off joint military exercise

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-03-09 19:52

SEOUL -- The Republic of Korea (ROK) and the United States kicked off their annual joint military exercises on Monday despite strong oppositions by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Stephen Bosworth (L), the new US envoy for the Six-Party Talks, is guided by Kim Tae-young, the ROK's chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at the Defence Ministry in Seoul, March 9, 2009. [Agencies]

According to the Chosun Daily, 26,000 US troops and over 50,000 ROK troops will participate in the Key Resolve and Foal Eagle exercise all over South Korea.

Related readings:  DPRK orders army to be fully combat ready  S Korea 'regrets' DPRK's cut-off of military communication  DPRK demands US cancel military drill with ROK  S.Korea, US to conduct joint military exercise

The exercise, which was set to end on March 20, are aimed at strengthening the capabilities of the allies to quickly reinforce frontline forces when South Korea was invaded, the organizers said earlier.

Among the US troops, 14,000 are from overseas bases of the US military, the US Force Korea said earlier.

The USS John C. Stennis aircraft carrier and a total of seven US Aegis destroyers will take part in the exercises, the Chosun Daily said.

The DPRK military has repeatedly demanded the US military to cancel the exercises.

A spokesman for the DPRK's general staff said Monday his country will retaliate against any attempt to intercept its rocket by mobilizing "the most powerful military means," arguing such a move would "precisely mean a war," the ROK's Yonhap News Agency reported Monday.