SOUTH KOREA: US/SOUTH KOREA JOINT MILITARY EXERCISES

Описание: (19 Jul 1999) English/Nat

Marines from the United States and South Korea carried out a joint exercise on Sunday designed to promote co-operation between the forces of the two countries.

Similar exercises are carried out twice a year, but Sunday's manoeuvres were the first to have an offensive rather than a defensive focus.

The region is politically sensitive for the United States since South Korea's neighbour, North Korea is one of the world's few remaining Communist states.

The United States fought a war in the peninsula in the early fifties and has maintained a presence there since the fighting stopped in 1953.

The joint exercise took place in the Korea East Sea near the city of Pohang, beginning early on Sunday morning.

The U-S-S Germantown, normally stationed in Japan, was the main American vessel in the exercise.

The ship was backed up by other military vehicles from both sides.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
" The concept of the operation, was a joint operation with the Korean Marine Corps, the Korean Navy, and the U-S Marine Corps and the U-S Navy and it's an operation to develop stronger relationships with both services. There is approximately 1500 marines and sailors that were involved in this operation, and so far it's been a very successful operation."
SUPERCAPTION: Lieutenant Bechtel, Second Battalion, Third Marine Regiment

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