US and SKorean troops hold joint military drills

(30 Mar 2015) The US and south Korean military held a joint military exercise on Monday near the city of Pohang. A total of 7,600 personnel from the two countries participated in the landing exercise, including Marine and Navy forces. Around thirty Naval vessels took part, including a 14,500-ton Dokdo-class amphibious assault ship from South Korea and the 41,000-ton USS BonHomme Richard and the 25,000-ton USS Green Bay from the American Navy. The landing exercise was a part of the ongoing annual South Korea-US Foal Eagle joint exercises, which North Korea has regularly criticised as a preparation for a northward invasion. North Korea separately told the US that it was willing to impose a temporary moratorium on its nuclear tests if Washington cancels the joint military drills with South Korea. But the US rejected the overture, calling it an "implicit threat." The Korean Peninsula remains in a technical state of war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. About 28,500 American soldiers are deployed in South Korea as a deterrent against potential aggression from North Korea. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...