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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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.
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
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Three former Memphis police officers charged in the January 2023 beating death of Tyre Nichols stood by his body and laughed after they punched, kicked and hit him with a baton in an attack that a prosecutor says was punishment because he tried to run away.
The former officers are standing trial accused of federal civil rights violations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Rogers said during opening statements Wednesday that the officers were punishing Nichols for fleeing a traffic stop and she used the term “run tax” — police slang for disciplining a subject who tries to escape. She said the force they used did not match Nichols’ actions, and she warned jurors they would see videos of the beating. Footage of the attack was publicly released just weeks after his death.
Rogers also said officers were just standing around in the “crucial” minutes when Nichols' heart stopped.
“You won’t see Tyre Nichols pose a threat to these officers at any time,” Rogers said.
Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith have pleaded not guilty to charges that they deprived the 29-year-old Nichols of his rights through excessive force and failure to intervene, and obstructed justice through witness tampering. Two others, Emmitt Martin III and Desmond Mills Jr., have already pleaded guilty to the federal charges. Rogers said Wednesday that Martin and Mills will testify.
Bean's lawyer, John Keith Perry, began crafting a defense in front of jurors as opening statements continued Wednesday.
Perry said Nichols drove 2 miles (3 kilometers) after the officers put their blue lights on to stop him and was not complying with orders to give them his hands, and that he was “fighting like hell” with police. Perry said video from a sky cop camera would show Nichols acting suspiciously and evidence would show the officers are not guilty.
“The narrative you hear here will take you five minutes to deliberate on,” Perry said.
Nichols, who was Black, died in a hospital on Jan. 10, 2023, three days after he was kicked, punched and hit with a police baton following a traffic stop. Police video released that month showed the five officers, who also are Black, beating Nichols as he yelled for his mother about a block from his home. Video also showed the officers milling about and talking with each other as Nichols sat on the ground, struggling with his injuries.
The officers said Nichols was pulled over for reckless driving, but Memphis’ police chief has said there is no evidence to substantiate that claim.
An autopsy report showed Nichols died from blows to the head and that the manner of death was homicide. The report described brain injuries and cuts and bruises to the head and other areas.
Nichols worked for FedEx, and he enjoyed skateboarding and photography.
“Tyre Nichols’ family have been praying for justice and accountability from the very beginning of this tragedy," Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, the civil rights attorneys representing Nichols' family, said before proceedings began Wednesday. "Now that the jury has been selected, they pray that the jury will get all of the evidence and render justice for Tyre.”
All five officers belonged to a crime suppression team called the Scorpion Unit. They were all fired for violating Memphis Police Department policies after Nichols’ death and the unit was disbanded.
They were also charged with second-degree murder in state court, where they pleaded not guilty, although Mills and Martin are expected to change their pleas. A trial date in state court has not been set.
On Monday, the judge read a list of potential witnesses that included two other former officers. Preston Hemphill fired his stun gun at the traffic stop scene but didn’t follow Nichols to where other officers pummeled him. Hemphill was fired. Dewayne Smith was the supervising lieutenant who arrived on scene after the beating. He retired instead of being fired.
Associated Press reporter Jonathan Mattise contributed from Nashville, Tennessee.
Former Memphis police officer Tadarrius Bean arrives at the federal courthouse for the second day of jury selection for the trial in the Tyre Nichols case Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Former Memphis police officer Justin Smith arrives at the federal courthouse for the second day of jury selection for the trial in the Tyre Nichols case Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Former Memphis police officer Tadarrius Bean, right, arrives at the federal courthouse with attorney John Keith Perry, right, for the second day of jury selection for the trial in the Tyre Nichols case Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Former Memphis police officer Demetrius Haley arrives at the federal courthouse for the second day of jury selection for the trial in the Tyre Nichols case Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
RowVaughn Wells, left, and Rodney Wells, parents of Tyre Nichols, arrive at the federal courthouse before the start of jury selection of the trial in the Tyre Nichols case Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Memphis. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
FILE - The image from video released on Jan. 27, 2023, by the City of Memphis, shows Tyre Nichols during a brutal attack by five Memphis police officers on Jan. 7, 2023, in Memphis, Tenn. (City of Memphis via AP, File)
FILE - This combo of images provided by the Memphis, Tenn., Police Department shows, top row from left, officers Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, and bottom row from left, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith. (Memphis Police Department via AP, File)
Former Memphis police officer Justin Smith, left, and attorney Martin Zummach, right, arrive at the federal courthouse for the second day of jury selection for the trial in the Tyre Nichols case Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Former Memphis police officer Demetrius Haley arrives at the federal courthouse for the second day of jury selection for the trial in the Tyre Nichols case Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Former Memphis police officer Tadarrius Bean arrives at the federal courthouse for the second day of jury selection for the trial in the Tyre Nichols case Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Opening statements are set in the trial of 3 ex-Memphis officers charged in Tyre Nichols' death
Opening statements are set in the trial of 3 ex-Memphis officers charged in Tyre Nichols' death
FILE - The screen at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans honors Tyre Nichols before an NBA basketball game between the New Orleans Pelicans and the Washington Wizards, Jan. 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton, File)