South Korea begins live fire military drills
Baku, December 6 (AZERTAC) South Korea has begun a series of major live fire exercises in disputed waters off the west coast, despite warnings from the North against conducting them.
It comes as Japan and the US are also conducting major joint military drills.
Tension has been high on the peninsula since North Korea shelled a disputed South Korean island last month, killing four South Koreans.
The US is set to host talks with Japan and South Korea, while China has called for six-nation talks to resume.
North Korea has accused Seoul of provocation, over its threat to use air strikes in response to further attacks from the North.
South Korea`s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the firing exercises by warships and artillery units on land were being held in 29 locations, including one of five islands near the disputed Yellow Sea border with the North.
The Northern Limit Line, the maritime border declared by UN forces at the end of the Korean War in 1953, is not recognised by Pyongyang.
Security reviews
Japan and the US are also holding large scale military exercises, their biggest ever.
The exercises, called "Keen Sword", involve 44,000 personnel, 400 aircraft and 60 warships.
The US nuclear-powered George Washington aircraft carrier, which also took part in recent US-South Korean exercises, joined Japan`s Aegis missile-equipped destroyers and F-15 jet fighters amid heavy wind and rain.
The drills were planned before the North Korean shelling of Yeonpyeong island on 23 November.
They are being held to mark the 50th anniversary of the Japanese-US alliance and last until 10 December.
A forthcoming security review in Japan is reportedly due to identify North Korea as a threat and to note China`s military strength as a cause for concern.
The update of the National Defence Programme Guideline, expected this month, will include measures for Japan to respond more robustly to threats in its region, Japanese media said.
Separately, a South Korean presidential security panel has proposed more than doubling the number of its marines, a core force in defending the country`s western border islands, the South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.
The Commission for National Security Review said South Korea should turn the Marine Corp into a "Rapid Reaction Force" and increase the number of marines to around 12,000 from the current 5,000 by creating another division, Yonhap said.
It was citing the findings, not yet formally announced by the government, of a review prompted by the apparent torpedoing of a South Korean warship by North Korea on 26 March, at a cost of 46 south Korean lives.
The commission also called for restoring the 24-month military service period, Yonhap said, quoting unnamed sources.
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