US and South Korea staging biggest military drills for years as North ramps up tensions
On the southeast coast of South Korea its military is rehearsing.
It’s simulating the storming of a contested beach. Waves of KAAV amphibious assault vehicles crash on to the sand, groups of infantry disembark and run to take up positions.
It is an impressive display with a precise focus, to defend peace on this peninsula.
This sort of thing is routine enough for a nation still technically at war with its nuclear-armed northern neighbour, but it is the presence of its partner that is far less so.
Indeed, these drills are being run in collaboration with the United States and its that that’s drawn attention.
“We’re here to support our alliance with the Republic of Korea Marine Corp and Navy,” says Captain Kevin Buss of the US Marines.
“It’s been a while since the last time we’ve done it, but this is a routine exercise, it’s defensive in nature and it’s just contributing to the combined defence of the Korean Peninsula.”
He was being careful with his words, but the broader message spoke for itself.
Indeed, the huge amphibious vehicle that roared onto the sand to “support” the initial Korean wave seemed to offer an apt metaphor for this relationship.
A series of joint drills named Freedom Shield and Warrior Shield have been running for several weeks.
It’s the first time they’ve gone ahead at this scale for five years.
They had previously happened annually, but were paused in the wake of the historic 2018 meeting between the US and North Korean leaders, President Trump and Kim Jong-Un.
At that time they agreed to a denuclearisation deal, but negotiations since fell apart and the resumption of the drills is a reflection of how tensions have spiralled since.
Indeed, last year North Korea launched more missiles than during any since Kim Jong-Un came to power in 2011.
There are some in South Korea that see these drills as provocative, an escalation that makes them less safe. A handful of protestors baring banners reading “US troops get out of Korea” showed up at the drills site and were quickly moved on by police.
And these views are not unfounded. North Korea sees American military cooperation with the south as particularly threatening and provocative.
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North Korea launches missile to ‘strike fear into enemies’
It has responded in the last few weeks by launching a barrage of nuclear capable missiles, including one from a submarine and its most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile to date. It has also unveiled nuclear warheads and a new underwater drone capable, it says, of unleashing a “super-scale radioactive tsunami”.
The South Korean government insists in light of this its response is proportionate, necessary and defensive.
“North Korea has constantly been developing nuclear weapons for years despite our efforts to have talks with them,” says Shin Beom-chul, South Korea’s vice defence minister.
“The reality is that the threat has been increasing. So, in response to the rising threat, we have been resuming military drills since President Yoon was inaugurated.
“If North Korea’s current level of progress is anywhere near its previous nuclear tests, then yes, I believe they could test a nuclear weapon whenever they please.”
If another full nuclear test is undertaken, it will be the first since 2017 and it will be a major escalation.
It is the “next step” many fear, as South Korea may find it hard not to respond.
There is nothing new about the threats in this part of the world, but it certainly feels efforts to deter them are being renewed, this time with a message of strength and allegiance.
Apple has apologised for its new iPad Pro advert where it crushed cameras, books and musical instruments, saying it “missed the mark”.
The advert – shared online by Apple chief executive Tim Cook – also featured creative tools such as a record player and a metronome being crushed in an industrial press.
It was intended to show off the wide range of tools that the thinnest ever iPad can be used for.
But the advert came under fire, with actor Hugh Grant saying it showed the “destruction of the human experience. Courtesy of Silicon Valley”.
In a statement, Apple’s vice president of marketing communications Tor Myhren said: “Creativity is in our DNA at Apple, and it’s incredibly important to us to design products that empower creatives all over the world.
“Our goal is to always celebrate the myriad of ways users express themselves and bring their ideas to life through iPad. We missed the mark with this video, and we’re sorry.”
Songwriter Crispin Hunt called the advert “surprisingly tone-deaf” and said Apple “previously enabled and championed creativity”.
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Adam Singer, from advertising technology company AdQuick, called it the “(unintentional) perfect metaphor for today’s creative dark age”.
“Compress organic instruments, joyful/imperfect machines, tangible art, our entire physical reality into a soulless, postmodern, read-only device a multi-trillion dollar corporation controls what you do with,” he wrote on X.
Sales for iPads dropped 17% for January to March compared to the same period a year ago. The tablets currently account for just 6% of the company’s sales.
Two skiers have been killed during an avalanche in mountains near Salt Lake City.
The men, aged 23 and 32, were swept up in the avalanche in Utah’s Wasatch Range on Thursday morning.
A third skier was rescued and taken to hospital after digging himself out from the snow, according to Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera.
The avalanche followed several days of spring snowstorms in the area.
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Craig Gordon, from the Utah Avalanche Center, said around 2.5ft (76cm) of heavy, wet snow had fallen in the area in the past three days during the snow storms, which he said had also brought very strong winds.
“With spring, avalanche conditions can change in an instant,” Mr Gordon said.
He also described the sight of the avalanche, near Lone Peak, as “very serious” and “steep” terrain.
An ambulance at the scene. Pic: Isaac Hale/The Deseret News via AP
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Lone Peak, is one of the highest peaks in the Wasatch Range, towering over Utah’s capital city.
Its steep, rugged terrain makes it a popular destination for advanced back country skiers and experienced climbers.
The sheriff’s office said the families of the two skiers had been notified of their deaths.
The deaths bring this winter’s tally of avalanche deaths in the US to at least 15 – which is less than the average of about 30 people who are killed by avalanches each year.
In January, one person was killed and another person was injured during an avalanche in Lake Tahoe.
Justin and Hailey Bieber have announced they are expecting their first child.
Hailey, the 27-year-old model, posted a video and a series of photos on Instagram showing off her baby bump.
Justin, 30, is also in the social media footage and has shared his wife’s post. It racked up over 1.8 million likes in less than an hour.
The announcement did not include a caption, with Hailey simply tagging her husband in the post.
The couple tied the knot in a secret ceremony in New York in 2018. The Instagram footage shows Hailey in a white lace dress during an apparent vow renewal held in a field.
Kylie Jenner was among the celebrities congratulating the couple in the comments of Hailey’s social media post.
The couple married in secret in 2018. Pic: BauerGriffin / MediaPunch /IPX
US reality star and entrepreneur Kim Kardashian, model Gigi Hadid and TV personality Chrissy Teigen also commented with their warm wishes.
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Hailey is the daughter of actor Stephen Baldwin and niece of actors Alec, William and Daniel Baldwin, while Justin was discovered as a singer online aged 13 and went on to become a pop sensation with his hits including Baby, Love Me and Yummy.
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The Canadian superstar was forced to cancel the remaining dates of his Justice world tour last year amid his ongoing recovery from Ramsay Hunt syndrome, a condition that can cause facial paralysis.
He unexpectedly stepped on stage at Coachella last month to perform the 2020 hit single Essence, alongside Wizkid, during a set by Nigerian star Tems.
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