NewsMax reports that the U.S. and South Korea were set to begin naval exercises in the waters west of the Korean Peninsula today, a show of force that North Korea warned would bring the region to the “brink of war.”
U.S. Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the U.S. is trying to prevent the tensions over North Korea’s attack on a South Korean island on the disputed maritime border from escalating into a more significant confrontation.
“We’re very focused on restraint and not letting this thing get out of control,” Mullen told CNN in an interview scheduled for broadcast today on “Fareed Zakaria GPS” and posted on the network’s Website.
“Nobody wants this thing to turn into a conflict.”
North Korea’s shelling of Yeonpyeong, which killed four people and wounded 20 more, raised tensions that flared after an international inquiry concluded that North Korea torpedoed the South Korean warship Cheonan in March and more recently following North Korean claims of advances in its nuclear program.
The Korean won was Asia’s worst-performing currency against the dollar Nov. 26 as the conflict continued. The Kospi stock index fell 1.3 percent. The tension also contributed to gains for the dollar, which rose the most since August against six major counterparts.
‘Defensive’ Drill
The U.S. called the four days of naval drills, which include the aircraft carrier USS George Washington and four smaller warships, “defensive in nature” and said they were initially planned before the Nov. 23 shelling of Yeonpyeong.
The nuclear-powered carrier, which holds about 85 aircraft and is served by a crew of 6,500, was last in waters off the Korean Peninsula in July as part of drills after the Cheonan’s sinking, which killed 46 sailors.
Kim Jong Il’s regime warned that any infringement of North Korea’s sovereignty would spark another attack.
“Escalated confrontation would lead to a war,” a North Korean government agency in charge of relations with South Korea said in a statement on the state-run Korean Central News Agency. “Gone are the days when verbal warnings are served only.”
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