US-South Korea military exercises still planned

The United States and South Korea probably will forge ahead with joint military exercises in the Yellow Sea despite China's objections, a Pentagon official said Wednesday.

The air and naval exercises, which had been delayed, are prepared for approval at a meeting next week in Seoul between Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and their South Korean counterparts, Defense Department spokesman Geoff Morrell said.

Once details are completed, the exercises would start soon and would involve a wide range of military ships and other assets, Morrell said. He did not specify a date or which ships would participate. He said the drill would involve both the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan.

China has opposed the military training in the Yellow Sea. Beijing said those exercises could inflame tensions on the Korean peninsula, especially if they should involve the USS George Washington, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.

Asked about China's objections, Morrell said this is "a matter of our ability to exercise in open seas, in international waters. Those determinations are made by us and us alone."

U.S. and South Korean officials planned the drill in response to North Korea's alleged sinking of a South Korean warship in March. The exercise was delayed until after the United Nations weighed in on the deadly attack, which killed 46 sailors.

South Korea had wanted the U.N. Security Council to condemn the North. China, the North's closest ally and a veto-holding council member, opposed direct condemnation.

The council condemned the attack and pointed a finger toward North Korea but did not directly blame the reclusive communist-led nation.