US, S Korea manoeuvres another provocation - KCNA.

26/11 Tass 79

PYONGYANG, November 26 (Itar-Tass) - The decision of South Korea and
the United States to conduct in the Yellow Sea joint exercises involving
the nuclear aircraft carrier George Washington has been called another
"reckless military provocation" by North Korea's official news agency
KCNA. The Korean Central News Agency emphasises that another show of force
aimed against the DPRK, will take place after the South Korean puppet
regime during the Hoguk exercises on November 23 shelled the territorial
waters of the People's Republic.
The US plans to conduct jointly with South Korea large-scale exercises
in the Yellow Sea, pose "a threat to peace and security not only on the
Korean Peninsula, but also all over Northeast Asia," the Minju Choson
(Democratic Korea) newspaper - organ of the DPRK government and parliament
- writes.
According to the publication, such manoeuvres will be yet "another
manifestation of the hostile US policy towards North Korea, an attempt to
stifle the People's Republic through military force." The newspaper said
that Washington as part of its strategy in the Asia-Pacific region has
already "designated the DPRK as a target for a pre-emptive nuclear strike."
The strike group led by the aircraft carrier George Washington
together with the South Korean Navy will conduct joint manoeuvres in the
waters west of the Korean Peninsula, the US command said in a statement.
The four-day exercise is designed to demonstrate the power of the
American-South Korean alliance, it says. According to the statement, The
USS George Washington carrier strike group will join Republic of Korea
(ROK) naval forces in the waters west of the Korean peninsula from Nov. 28
to Dec. 1 to conduct the next exercise in the series announced at the 2+2
meetings in July. This exercise is defensive in nature. While planned well
before yesterday's unprovoked artillery attack, it demonstrates the
strength of the ROK-US Alliance and our commitment to regional stability
through deterrence. It is also designed to improve our military
interoperability.
US Navy ships scheduled to participate include the USS George
Washington (CVN 73) with an embarked carrier air wing (CVW 5), USS Cowpens
(CG 62), USS Lassen (DDG 89), USS Stethem (DDG 63), USS Fitzgerald (DDG
62), the statement says. US and allied operations are built on an already
strong foundation of cooperation and this exercise is intended to further
enhance interoperability. The US and ROK forces will conduct air defence
and surface warfare readiness training.
KCNA said earlier that the US and South Korean puppet forces are
foolishly contemplating an additional provocation aimed to orchestrate
another farce and charade such as the Cheonan case while kicking up rows
and holding confabs one after another such as the declaration of a "state
of emergency" and "a meeting of ministers in charge of security," far from
drawing due lesson from the recent shelling. The Korean People's Army will
deal without hesitation the second and third strong physical retaliatory
blow if the South Korean puppet warmongers commit another reckless
military provocation out of all reason. The US would be well advised to
drop its inveterate bad habit of pulling up others, falsifying the truth
about the situation.
-0-ezh/ast