AFP

South Korea and the United States on Monday began their first joint naval exercises in five years near the Korean peninsula, a day after North Korea launched a ballistic missile.

The states are South Korea's main ally in the field of security, and about 28,500 US troops are deployed on the territory of this country to protect it from its nuclear-armed northern neighbor.

Conservative South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who came to power in May, is seeking to strengthen the military alliance after attempts at diplomatic rapprochement with Pyongyang led by the previous government failed.

"These exercises were prepared to demonstrate the strong resolve of the South Korea-US alliance to respond to North Korean moves," the South Korean Navy said in a statement.

The maneuvers will last four days and involve more than 20 ships, including the US aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan, as well as large air vehicles.

The exercises include simulating naval combat and confronting submarines as part of tactical maneuvers and other naval operations, according to the Navy.

These maneuvers are launched the day after Pyongyang tested a ballistic missile, which is part of a series of tests that began several months ago. And North Korea, which is subject to international sanctions because of its weapons programs, approved in early September a new doctrine that it will never give up nuclear weapons.

Washington and Seoul have long held joint military exercises. The allies stress the purely defensive nature of these maneuvers, but North Korea sees them as preparations for a future invasion.

And last month, the United States and South Korea held their largest joint military exercises since 2018. The exercises between the two countries were reduced due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the diplomatic rapprochement between Seoul and Pyongyang, which does not exist yet.,