U.S. and South Korean troops are preparing for their annual joint war games in coming weeks, an official said Wednesday, Jan 25, despite the sensitive power transition underway in North Korea.
The two countries "are preparing for the Key Resolve exercise", a U.S. military spokesman said, adding the schedule was not finalized.
South Korea's defense ministry declined to comment. Media reports said the exercises – which the North blasts as warmongering – would go ahead as scheduled, AFP reported.
Pyongyang last year threatened a military response to the fortnight-long Key Resolve computerized drill, which is normally followed by a joint air, ground and naval training exercise known as Foal Eagle lasting several weeks.
The exercises last year involved 12,300 U.S. troops and some 200,000 South Korean service members including reservists. They passed off without incident.
Seoul and Washington, which bases 28,500 troops in the South, say the drills are defensive and routine but the North habitually terms them a rehearsal for invasion.
It has taken a hostile tone with the South since its leader Kim Jong-Il died on December 17 and was replaced by his youngest son Jong-Un.
