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N. Korea threatens ‘merciless’ strikes as US, S. Korea & Japan hold joint drills US carrier to arrive for joint drills with S. Korea as Pyongyang warns of ‘merciless’ strikes
(about 5 hours later)
North Korea has warned that it will launch “merciless” strikes if the US strike group that arrived for two days of trilateral drills with South Korea and Japan infringes on Pyongyang’s “sovereignty and dignity.” A US Navy aircraft carrier group is expected to arrive in South Korea on Wednesday to take part in joint annual drills, the US military announced. It comes after the North warned of “merciless” attacks if its sovereignty is violated during the exercises.
“If they infringe on the DPRK’s [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s] sovereignty and dignity even a bit, its army will launch merciless ultra-precision strikes from ground, air, sea, and underwater,” said the North’s state news agency, KCNA, as cited by Reuters. The strike group will arrive at the port city of Busan on Wednesday, US Naval Forces Korea said, as cited by Yonhap News.
Pyongyang pointed out that “many enemy carrier-based aircraft flew along a course near territorial air and waters of the DPRK to stage drills of dropping bombs and making surprise attacks on the ground targets of its army.” Arriving at the port will be the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier ‘USS Carl Vinson’, along with aircraft from the Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 2, and the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer ‘USS Wayne E. Meyer.’ More than 80 aircraft are aboard the supercarrier.
North Korea has been steadily pounding the South and the US with strong rhetoric. KCNA reported on Monday that “if even a single shell is fired into the territory in which the sovereignty of the DPRK is exercised, the bases of aggression and provocation will be reduced to such debris that no living thing can be found.” READ MORE: US & South Korea drills may lead to 'actual war', North Korea warns
“The US should properly understand that its slightest misjudgment about the DPRK will lead it to final doom,” the agency added. A total of 5,500 crew members will arrive as part of the strike group.
The latest statement comes as, on Tuesday, US, Japanese, and South Korean Navy forces kicked off joint two-day drills to the east of the Korean peninsula and north of Japan with the participation of Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG 54) , South Korean Sejong the Great (DDG- 991), and Japanese Kirishima (DDG-174) missile destroyers. About 3,600 US service members were deployed to join the 28,000 US troops already based in South Korea for the annual exercise, which will run through April 30, Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis said on March 3.
The exercises are being billed as “promoting communications, interoperability, and partnership in the 7th Fleet area of operations.” Davis described the exercise as a series of joint and combined ground, air, naval, and special operations field exercises. It was designed in the spirit of the US-South Korean mutual defense treaty of 1953.
“The exercise will employ tactical data link systems to trade communications, intelligence and other data among the ships in the exercise. It will allow participants to enhance tactical capabilities, increase self-defense, strengthen partnerships, and improved situational awareness,” the US navy said in a statement. Washington and Seoul maintain that the annual drills are for defensive purposes.
Pyongyang launched four missiles to show their discontent with the war games on March 5. “These exercises are defensive in nature, and they have been carried out regularly, openly and transparently for nearly 40 years,” Davis said.
Tensions with the North were also exacerbated when America’s ambassador to the UN said that the US’ new administration is reviewing its Korea strategy, stressing that “all options are on the table. However, Pyongyang has denounced them as part of a "reckless scheme" to attack it.
Earlier on Tuesday, the North warned of "merciless" attacks if the ‘USS Carl Vinson’ infringes on the country's “sovereignty or dignity” during the exercises.
"If they infringe on the DPRK's (Democratic People's Republic of Korea's) sovereignty and dignity even a bit, its army will launch merciless ultra-precision strikes from ground, air, sea and underwater," the North's state news agency KCNA said, referring to the drills which began on March 1.
READ MORE: US missile system in S Korea ‘threatens regional stability’ - Moscow
"On March 11 alone, many enemy carrier-based aircraft flew along a course near territorial air and waters of the DPRK to stage drills of dropping bombs and making surprise attacks on the ground targets of its army," the news outlet continued.
Meanwhile, simultaneous two-day trilateral drills are taking place as part of joint exercises between the US, Japan, and South Korea. Those drills involved the dispatch of high-tech missile defense ships to the same area where Pyongyang fired four missiles just eight days ago.
The US Navy says the two-day drills are aimed at improving the capability to shoot down enemy ballistic missiles.
The drills come amid the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system (THAAD) to South Korea, another joint effort between Seoul and Washington in an bid to defend against Pyongyang. 
North Korea conducted two nuclear tests and 24 missile launches in 2016. It has fired five ballistic missiles - one intermediate-range and four improved versions of Scud missiles - into the East Sea (Sea of Japan) this year. Four of those were fired last week in response to the annual military drills between the South and the US.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is due to make his first visit to South Korea on Friday. It comes after the US ambassador to the United Nations said last week that President Donald Trump's administration is re-evaluating its North Korea strategy, and that "all options are on the table."