[/caption]The U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived Monday night in South Korea to reaffirm Washington's support for its ally amid tensions with North Korea, due to the sinking of a South Korean ship assigned to Pyongyang.
Gates is expected to have some security talks with other top Korean officials. He will be joined Wednesday by the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and is expected to meet Tuesday with the Minister of Defense of South Korea, Kim Tae-Young.
These exercises will be “a visual, tangible manifestation of our commitment to the security of the Republic of Korea.”, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell explained.
South Korea and the United States, based on the findings of an international inquiry, accuse North Korea of being responsible for the sinking of a South Korean warship, Cheonan, in which 46 sailors were killed. The attack took place in early March.
However Pyongyang strongly denies any involvement in the attack. On 9 July, the regime has escaped a direct accusation by the Security Council of the United Nations which has only condemned the "attack".
The U.S. aircraft carrier George Washington and three other cruisers USS McCampbell, USS John S. McCain and USS Lassen are expected to take part in exercises in South Korea.
The sinking of the Cheonan has been quite embarrassing for both South Korea and the US as both nations have been investing massively in the military.
Mr Gates will meet with his counterpart again on Wednesday, while Hillary Clinton will meet with Foreign Minister Yu Myung-Hwan. He also will participate in an observance of the 60th anniversary of the start of the Korean War.
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