<p>North Korea’s state media condemned a US military exercise in the Western Pacific Ocean involving F/A-18 Hornet combat jets taking off from a US aircraft carrier on May 3.</p><p>This US Navy video shows the fighter jets flying over American and South Korean ships in the Sea of Japan.</p><p>The USS Carl Vinson arrived in the region on April 28</a> and held joint drills with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. A US missile defense system, THAAD, also became operational in South Korea following missile launches in North Korea.</p><p>Pyongyang described US military drills as “reckless military provocation” that would put the Korean peninsula “close to the brink of nuclear war,” CNN</a> quoted North Korean state media KCNA.</p><br />
