U.S., South Korea start military drills amid 'second war' threats from Pyongyang

Thomas Maresca | Special for USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption North Korea warns against US, South Korea drills New threats are coming from Pyongyang as the US and South Korea prepare for joint military drills.

SEOUL — The U.S. and South Korea started their annual joint military exercises Monday amid threats from Pyongyang that the drills could spark a “second Korean war.”

North Korea’s official government newspaper Rodong Sinmun warned against "reckless behavior driving the situation into the uncontrollable phase of a nuclear war."

The newspaper said Sunday that North Korea possessed missiles capable of striking the U.S. mainland “from anywhere and anytime as it pleases.”

“The (Korean Peoples Army) is keeping a high alert, fully ready to contain the enemies. It will take resolute steps the moment even a slight sign of the ‘preventive war’ is spotted,” the article said.

The military drills, called Ulchi Freedom Guardian, are held every summer and have long been viewed by North Korea as a preparation for war. The North vows a strong military response to the exercise each year. The exercises come after North Korea threatened to launch four ballistic missiles toward the U.S. territory of Guam, although tensions have appeared to ease in recent days.

More: North Korea warns of nuclear war if U.S. drill turns to 'actual fighting'

More: Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford: War with North Korea ‘horrific’ but nukes ‘unimaginable’

Ulchi Freedom Guardian is a “computer simulated defensive exercise designed to enhance readiness, protect the region and maintain stability on the Korean peninsula," the U.S. Defense Department said.

The 11-day exercise will involve 17,500 American troops and roughly 50,000 South Korean service members, according to the Pentagon and South Korea’s Defense Ministry. The number of U.S. troops has been reduced from last year’s 25,000. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Sunday that the reduction simply reflects a need for fewer troops and is not a result of tensions with North Korea.

United Nations Command forces from seven countries — Australia, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, New Zealand, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom — are also participating.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Monday that the exercise was a “defensive drill” and that North Korea shouldn’t use it "as a pretext for aggravating the situation."

"North Korea must understand that it is because of its repeated provocations that South Korea and the U.S. have to conduct defensive exercises, which in turn keeps the vicious cycle going," he said during a Cabinet meeting, according to the South Korean Yonhap News Agency.

A strong showing of top U.S. military brass is on hand for the exercises. Adm. Harry Harris, head of Pacific Command; Gen. John Hyten, commander of the U.S. Strategic Command; and Lt. Gen. Samuel Greaves, director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, have arrived in Seoul to view drills and meet with their South Korean counterparts.

Their visits come on the heels of a trip to South Korea last week by Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Both China and Russia proposed last month a halt on the exercises in exchange for a freeze on North Korean missile tests. However, Dunford last week emphasized that the military drills were "not currently on the table as part of the negotiation at any level.”

Tensions have remained high on the Korean Peninsula as North Korea has conducted 12 missile tests in 2017, and as President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have engaged in a war of words. In July, North Korea successfully launched two intercontinental ballistic missiles, which it claims could reach the U.S. mainland.

Trump warned that North Korea would face “fire and fury like the world has never seen” if Pyongyang kept threatening the U.S.

Kim backed off the plan to fire missiles in the vicinity of the western Pacific island of Guam last week, saying he would watch "the foolish and stupid conduct of the Yankees" before deciding whether to approve plans to launch the weapons, North Korean state media reported.

That prompted Trump to tweet that the North Korean leader made a "wise and well reasoned decision."

More: Amid North Korean crisis, Guam residents rally for peace

More: What it will take to avoid a catastrophic war with North Korea