US and South Korea to test military force as an affront to North Korea

US, South Korea to test military forces

WASHINGTON — The U.S. and South Korea are planning two major military exercises off the Korean Peninsula in response to North Korea’s torpedo attack on a South Korean warship.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters on Monday the joint exercises conducted in the “near future” will test the nations’ ability to defeat submarines and to monitor and prevent illicit activities.

Whitman says the exercises are being planned as a result of the March 26 attack, in which a torpedo blew up a South Korean warship and killed 46 Korean sailors.

An international team of investigators concluded last week that the torpedo was fired from a North Korean submarine.