[Zambini]

U.S. carrier joins South Korea drills, North Korea warns of 'merciless' strikes

As the USS Carl Vinson plowed through seas off South Korea on Tuesday, rival North Korea warned the United States of "merciless" attacks if the carrier infringes on its sovereignty or dignity during U.S.-South Korean drills.

F-18 fighter jets took off from the flight deck of the nuclear-powered carrier in a dramatic display of U.S. firepower amid rising tension with the North, which has alarmed its neighbors with two nuclear tests and a series of missile launches since last year.

"While this is a routine deployment for the Carl Vinson strike group, really the centerpiece for us ... is this exercise we're doing with the ROK navy called 'Foal Eagle'," Rear Admiral James W. Kilby, commander of the Carrier Strike Group 1, told reporters, referring to South Korea as the Republic of Korea.

North Korea said the arrival of the U.S. strike group in the seas off the east of the Korean peninsula was part of a "reckless scheme" to attack it.

"If they infringe on the DPRK's sovereignty and dignity even a bit, its army will launch merciless ultra-precision strikes from ground, air, sea and underwater," the North's state news agency KCNA said.

North Korea's official name is the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"On March 11 alone, many enemy carrier-based aircraft flew along a course near territorial air and waters of the DPRK to stage drills of dropping bombs and making surprise attacks on the ground targets of its army," KCNA said.

Last week, North Korea fired four ballistic missiles into the sea off Japan in response to annual U.S.-South Korea military drills, which the North sees as preparation for war.

The murder in Malaysia last month of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's estranged half-brother has added to a sense of urgency to efforts to handle North Korea.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is due to make his first visit to South Korea on Friday.

Last week, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said President Donald Trump's administration was re-evaluating its North Korea strategy and "all options are on the table".

CHINESE OPPOSITION

Compounding regional tension, China is vehemently opposed to the deployment in South Korea of an advanced U.S. anti-missile system.

The United States and South Korea say the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense anti-missile system is for defense against North Korea, but China fears its powerful radar can probe deep into its territory and compromise its security.

The United States began to deploy the system a week ago, a day after North Korea launched its latest four missile tests.

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South Korean and U.S. troops began the large-scale joint drills, which are billed as defensive in nature, on March 1.

The exercise last year involved about 17,000 American troops and more than 300,000 South Koreans. South Korea has said this year's exercise would be of a similar scale.

The United States has also started to deploy "Gray Eagle" attack drones to South Korea, a U.S. military spokesman said on Monday.

China says the exercises do nothing to ease tension.

Last week, it called on North Korea to stop its weapons tests and for South Korea and the United States to stop their drills.

"We hope the relevant side can respect the security concerns of countries in the region, can take a responsible attitude and do more to benefit the easing of tension, rather than irritating each other," Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a daily news briefing, referring to the United States

[Azimuth]

Of course it's an immediate show of force.

Just like this is: (possibly a deterrent)

U.S. Deploys Attack Drones To South Korea After Pyongyang's Missile Launch 14 Mar 17

"The MQ-1C Gray Eagle Unmanned Aircraft System will be assigned to the Second Combat Aviation Brigade of the Second Infantry Division at Kunsan Air Base in the Republic of Korea to support “intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability to U.S. Forces Korea and our ROK [Republic of Korea] partners,” according to a press release by the United States Forces Korea.


The MQ-1C Gray Eagle can stay in the air for 27 plus hours, and travel up to 2,500 nautical miles at a speed of 150 knots, according to a description of the drone on the U.S. Army’s website. It can also carry four AGM-114 Hellfire missiles."



I wonder how long before shit truly hits the fan? Within a year?

[Steve]

North Korea's official name is the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Errrrrrrrrrrrr not quite.

[Oswald2001]

This is all...CHINA.

North Korea in nothing more than a Chinese vassal state.

A sock puppet.

Doing the bidding of CHINA.

[Zambini]

Yep, an unruly chinese step child that has to be put in it's place from time to time

[Zambini]

Anyone remember these incidents?

Gulf of Sidra?

The second Gulf of Sidra incident occurred on 4 January 1989 when two United States Navy F-14 Tomcats shot down two Libyan MiG-23 Floggers that appeared to have been attempting to engage them, as had happened eight years prior in the first Gulf of Sidra incident, in 1981.



May be looking at something similar here

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_o...incident_(1989)

[Oswald2001]

Originally Posted by Zambini ↗

Yep, an unruly chinese step child that has to be put in it's place from time to time

Except that North Korea is not exactly "unruly".


It is CHINA's well trained & disciplined junk yard dog tasked with keeping things unstable at the Korean border with The West.

North Korea is not as 'out of control' as it portrays itself.

It is staying quite 'on script'.

A script written 100% by CHINA.

[Zambini]

This shit is much bigger than what's happening in the Middle East, but not many are paying attention


South China Sea: Japan to deploy largest warship
Izumo carrier will cruise the South China Sea with stops in Southeast Asia before heading to India for US war games.


http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/0...130210567.html

[Oswald2001]

Originally Posted by Zambini ↗

This shit is much bigger than what's happening in the Middle East, but not many are paying attention

CHINA is taking advantage of the perceived US vulnerability due to The Deep State attacking Trump.

[Wildrice]

Those are our boys and girls!!!