SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea and the United States will begin their annual joint military exercises next week with a focus on improving their combined capabilities to deter and defend against growing North Korean nuclear threats, the allies said Monday.
The drills could trigger a belligerent response from North Korea, which portrays them as invasion rehearsals and have used the allies’ military cooperation as a pretext to advance the development of nuclear weapons and missile systems.
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South Korean protesters march during a rally opposing the joint military exercises between the U.S. and South Korea in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024. The banner reads "Stop the military exercises between the U.S. and South Korea."(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
South Korean protesters stage a rally opposing the joint military exercises between the U.S. and South Korea in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024. The banners read "Stop the South Korea - U.S. - Japan military alliance."(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Col. Ryan Donald, right, CFC/UNC/USFK Public Affairs Director, and Col. Lee Sung-jun of South Korea's JCS Public Affairs Director, attend a press briefing of the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises at the Defense Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
FILE - South Korean and United States marines ride on inflatable boats during a joint landing exercise to prepare for a possible North Korea's surprise attack in waters off Ganghwa Island, located inside of the civilian passage restriction line that separates the two Koreas since the Korean War, South Korea, Feb. 10, 2015. (Yonhap via AP, File)
South Korea and US will start summer military drills next week to counter North Korean threats
FILE - A balloon presumably sent by North Korea, is seen in a paddy field in Incheon, South Korea, on June 10, 2024. (Im Sun-suk/Yonhap via AP, File)
South Korea and US will start summer military drills next week to counter North Korean threats
South Korean and U.S. military officials said this year’s Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise, scheduled for Aug. 19-29, will include computer-simulated exercises designed to enhance readiness against such threats as missiles, GPS jamming and cyberattacks, and concurrent field maneuvers and live-fire exercises.
The allies in particular aim to “further strengthen (their) capability and posture to deter and defend against weapons of mass destruction,” military officials said in a joint news conference.
Lee Sung Joon, spokesperson of South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, said about 19,000 South Korean troops will participate in the drills, which he described as an “essential element for maintaining a strong defense posture to protect the Republic of Korea,” using South Korea’s formal name.
Ryan Donald, spokesperson of U.S Forces Korea, didn’t comment on the number of U.S. troops participating in the exercises and said he couldn’t immediately confirm whether the drills will involve U.S. strategic assets. The United States in recent months has increased its regional deployment of long-range bombers, submarines and aircraft carrier strike groups to train with South Korean and Japanese assets in a show of force against the North.
“This exercise will reflect realistic threats across all domains such as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s missile threats and we will take in lessons learned from recent armed conflicts,” Donald said, invoking the North’s formal name.
“ROK and U.S. units will execute combined field training exercises across all domains. Field maneuver and live fire exercises will strengthen the alliance’s interoperability while showcasing our combined capabilities and resolve,” he said.
In addition to its military exercises with the United States, the South Korean military will support the country’s civil defense and evacuation drills on Aug. 19-22, which will include programs based on North Korean nuclear attack scenarios, Lee said.
Animosity on the Korean Peninsula is high, as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un continues to use Russia’s war on Ukraine as a window to accelerate weapons development while issuing verbal threats of nuclear conflict toward Washington and Seoul.
In response, South Korea, the United States and Japan have been expanding their combined military exercises and sharpening their nuclear deterrence strategies built around U.S. strategic assets.
During last year’s Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises, North Korea conducted ballistic missile tests that it described as simulating “scorched earth” nuclear strikes on South Korean targets.
The North in recent weeks has also flown thousands of balloons carrying trash toward the South in a bizarre psychological warfare campaign that has further deteriorated relations between the war-divided rivals.
South Korea's military said Monday that the North launched about 240 balloons over the weekend, but only 10 were known to have landed in the South, all in areas north of the capital, Seoul. Those balloons carried paper waste and plastic bottles, and no dangerous substances were found, the South's joint chiefs said.
It was the first time North Korea flew balloons toward the South since July 24, when trash carried by at least one of them fell on the South Korean presidential compound, raising worries about the vulnerability of key South Korean facilities. The balloon contained no dangerous material and no one was hurt.
Also on Monday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol nominated presidential security chief Kim Yong-hyun, one of his closest confidants, as defense minister. Kim will be replacing Shin Won-sik, who was picked to be Yoon’s new national security adviser, according to the presidential office.
As a nominee for a Cabinet job, Kim is subject to a parliamentary hearing, although Yoon can appoint him even if lawmakers object. Yoon, a conservative, has struggled to push his agenda through the opposition-controlled National Assembly. The liberals have often criticized Yoon’s national security policies as hawkish and called for stronger efforts to revive dialogue with the North.
South Korean protesters march during a rally opposing the joint military exercises between the U.S. and South Korea in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024. The banner reads "Stop the military exercises between the U.S. and South Korea."(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
South Korean protesters stage a rally opposing the joint military exercises between the U.S. and South Korea in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024. The banners read "Stop the South Korea - U.S. - Japan military alliance."(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Col. Ryan Donald, right, CFC/UNC/USFK Public Affairs Director, and Col. Lee Sung-jun of South Korea's JCS Public Affairs Director, attend a press briefing of the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises at the Defense Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
FILE - South Korean and United States marines ride on inflatable boats during a joint landing exercise to prepare for a possible North Korea's surprise attack in waters off Ganghwa Island, located inside of the civilian passage restriction line that separates the two Koreas since the Korean War, South Korea, Feb. 10, 2015. (Yonhap via AP, File)
South Korea and US will start summer military drills next week to counter North Korean threats
FILE - A balloon presumably sent by North Korea, is seen in a paddy field in Incheon, South Korea, on June 10, 2024. (Im Sun-suk/Yonhap via AP, File)
South Korea and US will start summer military drills next week to counter North Korean threats
LAKE CITY, Ark. (AP) — Parts of the Midwest and South faced the possibility of torrential rains and life-threatening flash floods Friday, while many communities were still reeling from tornadoes that destroyed whole neighborhoods and killed at least seven people.
Forecasters warned of catastrophic weather on the way, with round after round of heavy rains expected in the central U.S. through Saturday. Satellite imagery showed thunderstorms lined up like freight trains to take the same tracks over communities in Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky, according to the national Weather Prediction Center in Maryland.
The National Weather Service’s Oklahoma-based Storm Prediction Center warned of a moderate risk of severe thunderstorms Friday along a corridor from northeast Texas through Arkansas and into southeast Missouri. That area, which has a population of about 2.3 million, could see clusters of severe thunderstorms in the late afternoon and evening, with the potential for some storms to produce strong to intense tornadoes and very large hail.
Those killed in the initial wave of storms that spawned powerful tornadoes on Wednesday and early Thursday were in Tennessee, Missouri and Indiana. They included a Tennessee man and his teen daughter whose home was destroyed, and a man whose pickup struck downed power lines in Indiana. In Missouri, Garry Moore, who was chief of the Whitewater Fire Protection District, died while likely trying to help a stranded motorist, according to Highway Patrol spokesperson Sgt. Clark Parrott.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said entire neighborhoods in the hard-hit town of Selmer were “completely wiped out” and said it was too early to know whether there were more deaths as searches continued. He warned people across the state to stay vigilant with more severe weather predicted.
“Don’t let your guard down," he said during a Thursday evening news conference. "Don’t stop watching the weather. Don’t stop preparing yourself. Have a plan.”
With flattened homes behind him, Dakota Woods described seeing the twister come through Selmer.
“I was walking down the street,” Woods said Thursday. “Next thing you know, I look up, the sky is getting black and blacker, and it’s lighting up green lights, and it’s making a formation of a twister or tornado.”
By late Thursday, extremely heavy rain was falling in parts of southeastern Missouri and western Kentucky and causing “very dangerous/life threatening flash flooding” in some spots, according to the National Weather Service.
Heavy rains were expected to continue there and in other parts of the region in the coming days and could produce dangerous flash floods capable of sweeping away cars. The potent storm system will bring “significant, life-threatening flash flooding” each day, the National Weather Service said.
Water rescue teams and sandbagging operations were being staged across the region, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency was ready to distribute food, water, cots and generators.
Water rescues were already underway in flooded parts of Nashville, Tennessee, where the rain could persist for days after an unnerving period of tornado warnings that drained the batteries of some city sirens, the fire department said.
Western Kentucky prepared for record rain and flooding in places that normally do not get inundated, Gov. Andy Beshear said. At least 25 state highways were swamped, mostly in the west, according to a statement from his office Thursday.
Flash flooding is particularly worrisome in rural areas of the state where water can quickly rush off the mountains into the hollows. Less than four years ago, dozens died in flooding across eastern Kentucky.
Extreme flooding across the corridor that includes Louisville, Kentucky, and Memphis, which have major cargo hubs, could also lead to shipping and supply chain delays, said Jonathan Porter, chief meteorologist at AccuWeather.
Forecasters attributed the violent weather to warm temperatures, an unstable atmosphere, strong wind shear and abundant moisture streaming from the Gulf.
Under darkened skies Thursday morning, the remains of a used car dealership in Selmer stood roofless and gutted, with debris scattered across the car lot and wrapped around mangled trees. Some homes were ripped to their foundations in the Tennessee town, where three tornadoes were suspected of touching down.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol released video of lightning illuminating the sky as first responders scoured the ruins of a home, looking for anyone trapped.
In neighboring Arkansas, a tornado near Blytheville lofted debris at least 25,000 feet (7.6 kilometers) high, according to weather service meteorologist Chelly Amin. The state’s emergency management office reported damage in 22 counties from tornadoes, wind, hail and flash flooding.
The home where Danny Qualls spent his childhood but no longer lives was flattened by a tornado in northeast Arkansas.
“My husband has been extremely tearful and emotional, but he also knows that we have to do the work,” Rhonda Qualls said. “He was in shock last night, cried himself to sleep.”
Workers on bulldozers cleared rubble along the highway that crosses through Lake City, where a tornado with winds of 150 mph (241 kph) sheared roofs off homes, collapsed brick walls and tossed cars into trees.
Mississippi's governor said at least 60 homes were damaged. And in far western Kentucky, four people were injured while taking shelter in a vehicle under a church carport, according to the emergency management office in Ballard County.
Walker IV reported from Selmer, Tennessee, and Seewer from Toledo, Ohio. Associated Press writers Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Arkansas; Jonathan Mattise in Nashville, Tennessee, Seth Borenstein in Washington; Isabella O'Malley in Philadelphia; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; Bruce Schreiner in Louisville, Kentucky; Jeff Martin in Atlanta; Hallie Golden in Seattle; and Ed White in Detroit contributed.
People clean up a damaged warehouse after severe weather passed the area in Carmel, Ind., Thursday, April 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Family and friends begin picking up whats left of a house that was ripped off it's foundation and thrown over 75 feet away along Tippah County Rd. 122 in the Three Forks Community near Walnut Miss., Thursday, April 3, 2025. (Thomas Wells /The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal via AP)
A piece of home decor rests inside a claw foot bathtub that was thrown from it's house along Tippah County Rd. 122 in the Three Forks Community near Walnut Miss., Thursday, April 3, 2025. (Thomas Wells /The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal via AP)
People look over the debris around a home at Lake City, Ark., on Thursday, April 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Adrian Sainz)
Willy Barns gathers cloths at his house after severe weather passed the area in Selmer, Tenn., Thursday, April 3, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Jamar Atkins helps to clean up a house after severe weather passed through Selmer, Tenn., Thursday, April 3, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Dana Hardin, a 25-year former employee of Gordon-Hardy, which was destroyed, looks on near the debris of the KEP Electric building after a tornado passed through an industrial industrial park on Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Jeffersontown, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)
Lauren Fraser picks up paperwork in the damaged second floor offices of Specialty Distributors after a tornado passed through an industrial industrial park on Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Jeffersontown, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)
Mike Davis moves debris from a damaged business in the Triad Building, a business plaza, after severe weather passed through Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)
A specialty distributors building is in ruins after severe weather passed through an industrial park on Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Jeffersontown, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)
William Fraser takes photographs inside the warehouse of a damaged building of Specialty Distributors after severe weather passed through an industrial industrial park on Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Jeffersontown, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)
A storm damaged home is seen Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Selmer, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
People remove items from a business damaged in the Triad Building, a business plaza, after severe weather passed through on Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)
In an aerial view, damaged structures are seen at the Triad Building, a business plaza, after severe weather passed through Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)
Storm damaged homes and broken trees are seen Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Selmer, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Rep. David Kustoff, R-Tenn., speaks about the storm damage during news conference Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Selmer, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Debris and goods are removed from damaged businesses in the Triad Building, a business plaza, after severe weather passed through Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)
People remove debris from a damaged business in the Triad Building, a business plaza, after severe weather passed through on Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)
A home is in ruins after severe weather passed through Lake City, Ark., on Thursday, April 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Adrian Sainz)
A shipping and receiving bay door is damaged along with the interior of the Gordon-Hardy building after severe weather passed through an industrial industrial park on Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Jeffersontown, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)
In an aerial view the interior of a damaged business is seen at the Triad Building, a business plaza, after severe weather passed through on Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)
Daniel Fraser carries a computer in the damaged second floor offices of Specialty Distributors after a tornado passed through an industrial industrial park on Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Jeffersontown, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)
A storm damaged home is seen Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Selmer, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Gov. Bill Lee speaks about the storm damage during a news conference Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Selmer, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Storm damaged homes are seen Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Selmer, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
The interior of the destroyed Gordon-Hardy building after a severe weather passed through an industrial industrial park on Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Jeffersontown, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)
