Demonstrators protest against South Korea-US joint drills

South Korea and the US have launched their annual military drills on the Korean Peninsula.
The American and South Korean forces will hold two joint drills, called Key Resolve and Foal Eagle. Some 3600 US troops will take part in the first round of the exercises. The 20-16 drills included strategic U-S naval vessels and air force assets. Both Washington and Seoul claim the drills are held to deter any possible use of nuclear weapons by the North. Pyongyang, however, condemns the drills as provocative. This comes as South Korean demonstrators have gathered outside the U-S embassy in Seoul to protest the exercises. They say the drills would push the peninsula closer to the brink of a nuclear war.