Seoul Threatens to Bomb North; US, Japan Launch Drills

Dec. 3) — South Korea is vowing to bomb its northern rival if Pyongyang attacks again, and U.S. and Japanese forces are practicing for regional war in their biggest-ever joint military exercises.


U.S. forces in Asia have been busy in the wake of North Korea’s artillery bombardment of a southern island last week. Today’s drills off Japan’s coast include the USS George Washington, one of the world’s largest nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, that’s just back from similar drills in Korean waters earlier this week.

 

More than 44,000 Japanese and U.S. military personnel are taking part in the week-long war games, along with 40 Japanese ships and 20 American ones, plus hundreds of aircraft, the BBC reported. Japan’s defense minister, Toshimi Kitazawa, said the drills were planned well in advance and “are not targeting a specific country,” China’s Xinhua news agency quoted him as saying.


But in an unprecedented move, South Korean “observers” are on hand as well — a sign of more regional coordination in efforts to deter Pyongyang. South Korea is also set to launch more live-fire drills on its own next week.


“If there are further provocations, we will definitely use aircraft to bomb North Korea,” Kim Kwan-jin, a retired South Korean general, said at a parliamentary hearing today confirming him as the country’s new defense minister, Reuters reported. He said he would not hesitate to authorize a bombing campaign of the North if Pyongyang attacks again.


There was no immediate response from North Korea.


But Pyongyang’s sole ally in the region, China, criticized today’s exercises, saying it’s better to try to talk with Pyongyang than to threaten force. “Those who brandish weapons are seen to be justified, yet China is criticized for calling for talks. Is that justified?” China’s foreign ministry said in a statement excerpted by Al-Jazeera.

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