http://www.france24.com/en/20170430-south-korea-us-conduct-military-drills-despite-pyongyang-threats

http://www.france24.com/en/20170430-south-korea-us-conduct-military-drills-despite-pyongyang-threats

30 April 2017 - 11H20
South Korea, US conduct military drills despite Pyongyang threats

SEOUL (AFP) -
South Korea and the United States wrapped up their annual large-scale military drills on Sunday, but continued a separate joint naval exercise that has triggered dire threats from nuclear-armed North Korea.
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The massive "Foal Eagle" drill, which the defence ministry in Seoul said was ending as scheduled on Sunday, involved around 20,000 South Korean and 10,000 US troops. Another annual joint exercise known as "Key Resolve" ended last month. Both play out scenarios for a conflict with North Korea, but Seoul and Washington insist they are purely defensive in nature, despite Pyongyang's claims that they are provocative rehearsals for invasion.
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The South Korean defence ministry confirmed Sunday that a joint naval drill with a US strike group, led by the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, was still ongoing in the Sea of Japan (East Sea). The exercise, aimed at verifying the allies' capability to track and intercept enemy ballistic missiles, is expected to continue until sometime next week.
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The tensions have also triggered some friction between Seoul and Washington, with Trump suggesting in a recent interview that the South should pay for the $1.0-billion dollar THAAD anti-missile system that the US is deploying on its ally's territory. But on Sunday South Korea said US National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster had spoken by phone with his counterpart in Seoul and both sides had reaffirmed that Washington would bear the cost of the THAAD deployment, as initially agreed.
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