US, South Korea kick off largest drills in five years

The US-South Korea exercises, called Freedom Shield, are scheduled to run for at least 10 days from March 13. - AP

SEOUL (AFP): South Korea and the United States kicked off their largest joint military exercises in five years on Monday, after nuclear-armed Pyongyang warned such drills could be seen as a "declaration of war".

Washington and Seoul have ramped up defence cooperation in the face of growing threats from the North, which has conducted a series of banned weapons tests in recent months.