U.S.-S. Korean military training to resume

SEOUL, Oct. 26 (UPI) -- Joint military training involving South Korean and U.S. forces will resume before long, the top U.S. commander in South Korea says.

The third round of "Invincible Spirit" exercises was slated for late October but was temporarily delayed because of scheduling problems, the Defense Department said in a release Tuesday. Army Gen. Walter L. "Skip" Sharp said Monday he expects the training will be rescheduled soon, but didn't provide a date.

The USS George Washington aircraft carrier was to be involved in the training operations in international waters off the western coast of South Korea.

The joint exercises, agreed to by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and South Korean National Defense Minister Kim Tae-young this summer, are meant not only to improve the skills of the two countries' military forces but to send a message to North Korea, which South Korea blames for the sinking of one of its naval ships in March.

Earlier rounds of naval training were held in July and early October.

"Over the remainder of this year and into the future, we are going to continue with a series of exercises that looks very directly at how we can strengthen the alliance based on what we see going on in North Korea," Sharp told a Pentagon Channel reporter.

"All countries of the region are concerned with what is going on in North Korea," he said, referring to ballistic missile and nuclear weapons testing and other saber-rattling by the North.

Sharp added North Korea leaders could choose to "change their ways and to become much more responsible -- to denuclearize, to (address) ... human rights within the country and to stop the provocations that they have been doing."

"Whether North Korea takes advantage of that opportunity is yet to be seen," he said. "But I think all the countries of the region are clearly saying, 'This is the time to do it.'"