(VOVworld) – On Monday, the armies of South Korea and the US began their annual joint military exercise called “Ulchi Freedom Guardian”, which will involve 50,000 Korean soldiers and 30,000 US soldiers and will continue until next Friday.

A US Marine Corps C-130 Hercules aircraft leads a formation of F/A-18C Hornet strike fighters and A/V-8B Harrier jets over the aircraft carrier US George Washington (CVN 73) in the East Sea of Korea (US Navy photo/Reuters)

The exercise, which is largely computer-simulated, plays out a scenario of full-scale invasion by North Korea. Both Seoul and Washington insist it is a purely defensive exercise. Earlier, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea condemned the exercise as a "declaration of war" and warned of retaliation.