US, South Korea begin war games

[cal04]

South Korea and the United States on Saturday launched large-scale war games as North Korea accused them of rehearsing for a nuclear attack on the communist state. About 25 000 US troops backed by a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier are taking part in the week-long drill aimed at testing the capability of US and South Korean commanders to receive and deploy US reinforcements from abroad.

"The RSOI (Reception, Staging, Onward Movement and Integration) drill started today as planned," said an official with the US military who asked not to be named. An unspecified number of South Korean troops are participating in the war games. The aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln and its accompanying flotilla will take part in the exercise for the first time, the official said. The RSOI drill usually involves a US aircraft flotilla. Last year, the USS Kitty Hawk, based in Yokosuka, Japan, took part.

The RSOI is occurring simultaneously with another drill, Foal Eagle, which is focusing on rear echelon security and stability operations as well as deployment of troops and weapons. South Korean and US officials say the two exercises are "defensive" in nature and aimed at deterring any North Korean military threat. But Pyongyang's government daily, Minju Joson, said in an editorial on Saturday that the exercises are "a dangerous war gamble to invade the DPRK (North Korea) as they may go over to an actual war any moment".

Noting the participation of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, it said the war games were "a test nuclear war, a preliminary war, to make a pre-emptive attack" on the North. It urged South Korea to "stop the exercises with outsiders" if it really wants reconciliation and cooperation between the two Koreas.

http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_1904545,00.html

[Minnesota Libra]

1. Here we go guys - the opening salvo has just been heard nt

[hack89]

2. Every year they do this exercise and every year ..

North Korea pitches a fit. Nothing new here.

[Minnesota Libra]

4. Oh but in light of "The Axis of Evil" and "War on Terror" it could........

.....blow up very easily especially since N Korea is working hard to get nuclear weapons and has made it plain they too can play the preemptive strikes game.

[teryang]

6. Exactly

The military threat from North Korea however is a straw man. These exercises are meant to counter Chinese power. The South Koreans could defeat the north by themselves with only logistic support from the US. US ground and air forces aren't needed in Korea except to counter the threat of Chinese intervention. The whole scenario has outlived its usefulness in a sense as the South wishes to unify and Japan and the US are opposed to it because they don't want to give up their buffer state against China.

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

3. Remember 2001 war games

that were so real that we lost the Twins? :cry:

[formercia]

5. Remember Able Archer '82

When Reagan had live tactical nukes issued to front line units instead of practice warheads? That came within less than a minute of an all-out nuclear exchange with the Soviet Bloc.
All it takes is one stupid stunt like that to destroy the Planet.

[NaturalHigh]

7. They were doing this when I was in Korea almost 15 years ago.

No big deal. It just makes it less convenient to leave base and drink beer downtown.

[grilled onions]

8. Oxymoron

To have the words war and games next to each other seems the height of oxymoronism.

[CatholicEdHead]

9. The "actual war" never ended in the 1950's

The Korean War continues to this day.