07 March 2016•Update: 08 March 2016
By Alex Jensen
SEOUL
South Korea and the United States began their biggest ever annual military exercises Monday, ignoring repeated threats from North Korea.
Onlookers might have been forgiven for thinking the 1950-53 Korean War was on the verge of reigniting, as the South's military revealed that they were preparing to strike the North's leadership and specific targets in case of a conflict.
"The focus of the exercises will be on hitting North Korea's key facilities precisely," an official was quoted as saying by local news agency Yonhap.
The drills -- named Key Resolve and Foal Eagle -- will bring together 300,000 South Korean troops with around 17,000 U.S. counterparts between now and the end of April.
An American nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and submarine will also be involved, while thousands of marines from both sides started a separate amphibious exercise on the same day.
The U.S. already has nearly 30,000 military personnel stationed in South Korea, but this year's drills come amid heightened tensions on the peninsula following the North's recent fourth nuclear test and rocket launch -- which drew new United Nations sanctions last week.
Pyongyang continued to ramp up its aggressive rhetoric Monday, threatening to "deal merciless deadly blows at the enemies."
North Korea's National Defense Commission also repeated in an official statement that its nuclear weapons are capable of reaching targets as far away as the U.S. mainland.
"If we push the buttons to annihilate the enemies even right now, all bases of provocations will be reduced to seas in flames and ashes in a moment," the commission cautioned.
A Seoul defense ministry spokesperson countered by warning that South Korea was also ready to respond "mercilessly”.
