U.S., South Korea start military drills

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SEOUL, March 1 (UPI) -- A military official in Seoul said Friday that joint regional military drills with the United States may include stealth fighters and B-52 bombers.

U.S. and South Korean forces began military drills that are to last through the end of April. A South Korean military official told the Yonhap news agency not for attribution that drills may include F-22 Raptors and B-52 bombers.

The drills come amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula following North Korea's underground test of a nuclear device last month.

The Seoul official said field exercises would involve "tens of thousands" of troops on both sides. The U.S. military maintains a presence in South Korea to help monitor demilitarization following the Korean War in the 1950s.

Yonhap reports that Pyongyang warned the "black cloud of a nuclear war is coming" because of the military pressure it sees from the United States and South Korea.

North Korea's nuclear test was said to be part of Pyongyang's anti-U.S. campaign.

Washington this week said it was considering additional anti-missile radar systems in Japan as part of a North Korean deterrent program.