(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-02-01 22:29

SEOUL -- South Korean and US troops will conduct massive joint military exercises in multiple locations throughout South Korea in early March, the South Korean-US Combined Forces Command (CFC) announced on Friday.

The exercise, named Key Resolve, will be carried out from March 2 to 7 and replace the RSOI drills, said a news release by the CFC.

Key Resolve is designed to provide training for the South Korean-US Combined Forces Command in the various aspects of reception, staging, onward movement, and integration of forces from bases outside of South Korea, the news release said.

South Korea's Yonhap News Agency said that 12,000 US troops stationed in South Korea and 6,000 other US troops stationed in the Pacific region and the United States will participate in the Key Resolve drills.

The US Navy nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Nimitz will also participate into the exercise, Yonhap said.

The South Korean and US military will hold joint and combined field-training exercise of Foal Eagle together with the Key Resolve exercises, said the news release of the CFC.

The US and South Korean military on Friday informed the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) about the Key Resolve exercises, it added.