U.S., South Korea announce annual joint drills

The United States and South Korea announced Tuesday that they will begin annual joint military exercises on March 2. AFP notes that the exercises will likely strengthen tensions with North Korea.

During previous military drills from the U.S. and South Korea, Pyongyang has threatened preemptive nuclear strikes and launched missile tests. South Korea and the U.S. say the Key Resolve and Foal Eagle exercises are defensive, but North Korea sees the drills as "provocative rehearsals for invasion," AFP reports. This year, Pyongyang offered a moratorium on nuclear testing if the U.S. and South Korea canceled the annual exercises, but the U.S. said the proposal was an "implicit threat" of nuclear testing.

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The military exercises will begin on March 2. Key Resolve will last until March 13, while Foal Eagle will run through April 24. North Korea hasn't issued a response to the announcement yet, but South Korean defense ministry spokesman Kim Min-Seok told AFP the North's "position and provocative remarks will have no impact" on the drills.