S. Korea-U.S. ready for air force joint drills against N. Korea's missile provocations

한미, 월요일 연합훈련 시작, 맥매스터 '전쟁 가능성 커져가' Our top story this morning... A massive South Korea-U.S. military exercise will take place over the Korean Peninsula starting today,... the largest joint drill the allies have ever held. Designed to boost "combat effectiveness" against North Korea,... the United States has sent some 230 combat aircraft,... including the most sophisticated stealth fighters and bombers. Lee Unshin starts us off. The air forces of South Korea and the United States are ready for another joint exercise, set to start on Monday. The 5-day drill, dubbed Vigilant Ace, will involve more than 230 warplanes from both sides, including 6 U.S. F-22 Raptors, and 6 F-35s -- some of the air forces' most advanced fighter jets. Throughout the training about 12,000 personnel will demonstrate wartime defenses and airstrikes on mock North Korean nuclear and missile targets. The exercises come after the North fired an intercontinental ballistic missile last Wednesday. Pyongyang condemned the scheduled annual drill. Its state media said Washington is "begging for nuclear war," and claimed that the missile launch was a legitimate part of strengthening what it called its "self-defensive nuclear deterrence." North Korea's latest missile is believed by experts to be capable of reaching all parts of the continental U.S. Despite its range, though, reports say U.S. officials now believe the missile likely did not survive re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. Amid growing tensions, Washington's National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster says the North's nuclear program is the "greatest immediate threat" to the United States -- that the risk of war with North Korea is growing every day, and that Washington is in a race to find a solution. Lee Unshin Arirang News. Arirang News Facebook:   / arirangtvnews   ------------------------------------------------------------ [Subscribe Arirang Official YouTube] ARIRANG TV:    / arirang   ARIRANG RADIO:    / music180arirang   ARIRANG NEWS:    / arirangnews   ARIRANG K-POP:    / arirangworld   ARIRANG ISSUE:    / arirangtoday   ARIRANG CULTURE:    / arirangkorean   ------------------------------------------------------------ [Visit Arirang TV Official Pages] Facebook:   / arirangtv   Twitter:   / arirangworld   Instagram:   / arirangworld   Homepage: http://www.arirang.com ------------------------------------------------------------ [Arirang K-Pop] YouTube:    / arirangworld   Facebook:   / arirangkpop   Google+: http://plus.google.com/+arirangworld