South Korea, US end joint naval drills without problems

The two allies, who accuse the North of a deadly submarine attack on a South Korean warship, said they staged the four-day naval and air exercise to send a “clear message” that any future provocations would not be tolerated.

About 20 ships including the 97,000-ton carrier USS George Washington, 200 aircraft including four F-22 Raptor stealth fighters, and 8,000 personnel took part in the largest joint drill for years.

“We practiced well together and the (South's) military has built confidence that it can deter and defeat any North Korean aggression at any time, based on its alliance with the U.S.,” an official with Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

The exercise which ended at 5 p.m. (0800 GMT) was a “formidable show of force” to North Korea, he told reporters in a background briefing.

The North vehemently denies involvement in the sinking of the warship in March with the loss of 46 lives. It had threatened nuclear retaliation against the drill, which it depicted as a rehearsal for invasion.

Seoul's military said no unusual military moves have been detected across the border since Sunday.

But the presidential office said the National Cyber Security Center had received intelligence reports of a possible cyber attack from the North, following its vow to hit back for the exercise.

A presidential team “has been on emergency alert against hacking in cooperation” with the centre, a presidential spokeswoman said.

South Korea's spy chief blamed North Korea for cyber attacks from China-based servers that briefly crippled U.S. and South Korean government and commercial websites in July last year.

Tensions remain high on the peninsula almost six decades after an armistice ended the 1950-53 Korean War. It was never followed by a peace treaty.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il attended a concert marking Tuesday's 57th anniversary of the armistice, Pyongyang's official news agency said early Wednesday.

Kim hailed his country's “shining victory” in the conflict and enjoyed numbers such as “Our General Is the Best” and “July 27, Our Victory Day,” it said.

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