news worldnews asia northkorea 8157166 ----- # North Korea attack: US and South Korea prepare war games in Yellow Sea ## The US and South Korea are to stage fresh war games in the Yellow Sea in the coming days in a show of force against the North Korean regime, as diplomatic and military tension remained high on the Korean peninsula. 400 227 TelegraphPlayer-8153231 [Link to this video][1] By Peter Foster in Beijing 6:02PM GMT 24 Nov 2010 The announcement of the war games came as the death toll from Tuesday's bombardment of a South Korean island rose to four after the bodies of two construction workers were found in the shelled-out remains of a house. The decision to send the nuclear-powered USS Washington, with its 75 warplanes and 6,000-strong crew, immediately angered North Korea and is likely to unnerve China which objected strenuously to similar US plans earlier this year. North Korea, which has blamed [South Korean][2] live-fire naval exercises for its bombardment of Yeonpyeong Island, warned on Wednesday that South Korea was worsening ties with its "reckless military provocations" and its decision to cut off humanitarian aid. In a statement the North's official KCNA news agency said South Korea was "driving the situation to the brink of war by pursuing its policy of confrontation with the DPRK ([North Korea][3])". The USS Washington left Yokosuka US Naval Base south of Tokyo on Wednesday morning and will begin the joint exercises on Sunday to demonstrate the US "commitment to regional stability through deterrence", according to the US Forces Korea (USFK). ## Related Articles * [North Korea threatens more attacks][4] 25 Nov 2010 * [US sends nuclear aircraft carrier to South Korea][5] 24 Nov 2010 * [Obama pledges to defend US ally South Korea][6] 24 Nov 2010 * [North Korea attacks South][7] 24 Nov 2010 * [Why North Korean strike will not trigger world war three][8] 23 Nov 2010 * [South Korea and US to hold joint military exercises][9] 24 Nov 2010 The decision to deploy the USS Washington so close to the Chinese coast is reminiscent of a crisis in 1996 when former President Bill Clinton sent a carrier group through the Taiwan Strait after Beijing test-fired missiles into the channel between the mainland and Taiwan. The US postponed plans for similar exercises last August after Beijing reacted furiously to its announcement that it was sending the USS Washington to the Yellow Sea, with one Chinese general describing the move as a "flagrant provocation". China has refused to issue an outright condemnation of Tuesday's attack but was coming under increasing pressure from the US and Japan to be more proactive in using its influence to curb Pyongyang's belligerence. Stephen Bosworth, the US special envoy on North Korea, left Beijing yesterday [Wed] after further talks with his Chinese counterparts which he described as "useful". In a statement before departing however, Mr Bosworth made little attempt to hide US differences with China over how to handle North Korea, calling on Beijing to condemn Pyongyang's actions. Japan also publicly echoed the US's private calls for China to be more forceful in using its economic and political leverage to make North Korea adhere to the norms of international behaviour. The mood remained tense and angry in South Korea on Wednesday, with a few small demonstrations in the capital Seoul, although the majority of people went about their ordinary business. Many kept a close eye on their televisions, however, which showed exhausted survivors of the attack arriving in the port of Incheon to be greeted by tearful family members and giving first-hand accounts of their terror when the shells began to land. "I heard the sound of artillery, and I felt that something was flying over my head," said Lim Jung-eun, a 36 year-old housewife who escaped Yeonpyeong island with her three children, one of whom, a 9-month-old baby girl, she carried on her back. "Then the mountain caught on fire." Despite pressure from South Korea's media which called for stronger retaliation against the North, Lee Myung-bak, the South Korean president, has responded to widespread diplomatic calls for calm with a pledge not to escalate the crisis. [X][10] Share & bookmark Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! 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