Sat Nov 27, 2010 8:25pm EST
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SEOUL Nov 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. and South Korean militaries have started a large-scale exercise off the west coast of the peninsula on Sunday, just days after North Korea fired a barrage of missiles at a South Korean island.
The nuclear-powered USS George Washington is participating in the exercise from Sunday to Wednesday. [nLDE6AR001
Here are some questions and answers about the exercise:
WHY CONDUCT JOINT EXERCISES?
The exercises are held primarily to send a message to North Korea that the U.S. military stands by South Korea. These combined drills are also an overt show of force.
Washington says large-scale drills, which started after the sinking of the Cheonan warship in March, are designed to send a clear message to North Korea that its aggressive behaviour must stop.
The U.S. and South Korean militaries are vastly better equipped than the North's, and experts say they would quickly win any war. The North's force of over a million troops easily outnumbers the U.S.-South Korean contingent, but its equipment is old and it barely has enough fuel to fly its fighter jets. The exercises also serve to underline the gap in technology.
HOW OFTEN AND WHERE ARE THEY HELD?
South Korea and the United States regularly hold combined exercises each year, but after the sinking of the Cheonan they agreed to stage a series of large-scale military drills. This weekend's exercise will be their third of these extra combined manoeuvres, and the second to take place off the west coast where the Cheonan was torpedoed in the Yellow Sea. North Korea denies responsibility for the attack.
A joint drill in July involving the aircraft carrier the USS George Washington was initially planned for the Yellow Sea off the peninsula's west coast, but after criticism from China it was moved to areas off the east coast.
This weekend's drill had initially been scheduled for late last month, just before the G20 summit in Seoul, but was postponed due to scheduling problems.
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