中國網站品牌欄目（頻道）
Republic of Korea (ROK) and United States forces began anti-submarine drills in the Yellow Sea on Monday, the latest in a series of planned shows of joint military prowess against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
The five-day naval exercises, the second by Seoul and Washington since the deadly sinking of an ROK warship in March blamed on the DPRK, included two guided-missile destroyers and a fast attack submarine from the US Navy and two ROK destroyers.
Up to 1,700 ROK and US navy forces are involved in the submarine detection training and high-level combat training, according to a spokesman for the ROK's Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The DPRK condemned the US and ROK on Sunday for carrying out the exercises in the Yellow Sea, DPRK's official KCNA news agency reported.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the DPRK's Secretariat of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea described the exercises as "a military provocation to destroy the efforts for detente on the Korean Peninsula".
The so-called anti-submarine exercises will "chill the mounting atmosphere of improved inter-Korean relations, and aggravate the confrontation and the premeditated war maneuvers to ignite a nuclear war at any cost," the statement also said.
The fact that Seoul is staging the military exercises with Washington at a time when the DPRK and ROK are holding dialogues to settle Red Cross humanitarian issues is "an intolerable mockery of its dialogue partner and challenge to it," the statement said.
The statement also warned that the unprecedented exercises prove that the US and ROK are "stepping up the preparations for a real war," stressing that the DPRK will "never pardon but wipe out any provocateurs".
This drill does not feature a US aircraft carrier, unlike the joint naval exercise in late July, which was relocated from the Yellow Sea to the east coast of the peninsula in response to China's expressions of concern.
The Yellow Sea drill is the latest in a flurry of exercises Seoul has staged - either alone or with the US - since the DPRK was accused of sinking the ROK's warship in March.
Both Seoul and Washington, citing the results of an international inquiry, accused Pyongyang of attacking the ROK's warship near the tense sea border.
Pyongyang, however, has repeatedly denied its role in the torpedo attack.
（中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯）
About the broadcaster:
Lee Hannon is Chief Editor at China Daily with 15-years experience in print and broadcast journalism. Born in England, Lee has traveled extensively around the world as a journalist including four years as a senior editor in Los Angeles. He now lives in Beijing and is happy to move to China and join the China Daily team.
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