Korea Update

The naval exercises off the South Korean Coast have been concluded after four days of gunnery and anti-submarine warfare practice,along with airpower displays.North Korea's shrill rhetoric had been toned down by the end of the exercises.U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates flew to Seoul to meet with his South Korean colleague in recent days.They agreed to conduct an additional series of meetings and exercises over the next few months to reinforce their message of determination to counter any further aggression by Pyongyang,a Pentagon source said.Mr.Gates also visited the Demilitarized Zone between the two Koreas and U.S. troops at Camp Casey nearby.
Pynogyang has denied sinking the South Korean warship Cheonan in March,which led to the show of force by the U.S. and its ally Seoul.The Korean War raged from 1950-53,and remains in an uneasy truce that has been punctuated by various deadly crises.