US-South Korea military exercises still planned

[David]

AP


WASHINGTON – The Pentagon says the U.S. and South Korea likely will forge ahead with joint military exercises in the Yellow Sea despite China's objections.

Defense Department spokesman Geoff Morrell (moh-REHL') says he expects the air and naval exercises will be approved at a meeting next week in Seoul between Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and their South Korean counterparts.

The exercises originally were planned for June or July in response to North Korea's alleged sinking of a South Korean warship in March, but they were delayed.

China has voiced concerns that the exercises could inflame tensions on the Korean peninsula.