US says to stage military drill with South Korea

SEOUL, Mar 6 (Reuters) The US military said today it would hold military exercises with South Korea this month, but sought to reassure North Korea the drills were not meant to be provocative.

North Korea, which is engaged in international talks on ending its nuclear arms programme in return for aid and better diplomatic ties, in the past has cited the training exercises as an excuse for it not to take part in diplomacy.

US and South Korean troops will hold the annual exercises called RSOI and Foal Eagle from March 25-31, US Forces Korea said in a statement, adding North Korea's army had been informed.

''(We have) assured them that this is a defensive military readiness exercise, and that it is not meant to be provocative in any way,'' it said in a statement.

The training drills have been held for years without a major incident. About 29,000 US troops will take part in this year's exercises along with an undisclosed number of South Korean troops, a USFK spokesman said.

Some 6,000 US troops stationed outside the peninsula will take part in the drills, while a US aircraft carrier group will be involved in the exercises, the spokesman added.

The United States has about 30,000 soldiers in South Korea to support the country's some 670,000 troops. North Korea has a 1.2 million-strong military, most of whom are stationed near the heavily fortified border that divides the peninsula.

The two Koreas are technically still at war because the 1950-1953 Korean War ended in a truce and not with a peace treaty.

REUTERS BDP SSC1408