SEOUL (Dispatches) -- The United States and South Korea on Monday launched a joint naval exercise in a fresh show of force against North Korea over its growing missile and nuclear threats.
Tensions have soared in the Korean Peninsula in recent months, with Pyongyang carrying out a series of missile launches and its sixth nuclear test in the face of belligerent rhetoric from U.S. President Donald Trump.
The United States has also ramped up military drills with South Korea and Japan, its two closest allies in the region.
The 10-day drills are taking place on the southern side of the de facto maritime border known as the Northern Limit Line, the spokesman added.
The U.S. navy said earlier that the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier and two U.S. destroyers would take part.
North Korea’s state-run KCNA news agency on Saturday called the Ronald Reagan's participation a "reckless act of war maniacs as it only drives the tense situation on the peninsula into the point of explosion."
The exercises are the latest instance of U.S. military hardware movements around the Korean Peninsula.
On Friday the nuclear-powered submarine USS Michigan arrived in the southern port of Busan, according to Yonhap news agency, days after another nuclear-powered submarine -- the USS Tucson -- left.
Last week the U.S. flew two supersonic heavy bombers over the Korean Peninsula, staging the first night-time joint aviation exercises with Japan and South Korea.
The U.S. is showcasing a line-up of its warplanes including the B-1B bomber, and F-22 and F-35 stealth fighters at the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition which opens Tuesday.
Organizers said the event was a showcase for South Korean arms exporters, rather than a platform for foreign manufacturers as in the past, but added that the display of Seoul and Washington's newest military assets would send a strong message about the allies' readiness.
President Donald Trump has engaged in an escalating war of words with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, trading personal insults and threats of military strikes and raising concerns about an outbreak of hostilities.
The North's missile and nuclear capabilities have made significant progress under Kim, who told party officials this month that the country's atomic weapons were a "treasured sword" to protect it from aggression.