U.S. and South Korea to stage military drills after ship sunk

South Korean marines look north as they stand in a line during a military drill against possible invasion by North Korea, on Yeonpyeong Island near the western maritime border between the two Koreas, June 17, 2009.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and South Korea are expected to soon approve a series of joint military exercises that aim to deter the North from any future attack following the sinking of a South Korean warship, the Pentagon said on Wednesday.

The naval and air exercises in the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan, likely to be finalized during high-level talks next week in Seoul, go beyond those previously announced following the March attack that killed 46 sailors. North Korea has denied responsibility but is widely blamed for sinking the warship.

"All of these exercises are defensive in nature but will send a clear message of deterrence to North Korea and demonstrate our steadfast commitment to the defense of South Korea," Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said.

He declined to offer details but said the exercises "will involve a wide range of assets and are expected to be initiated in the near future."

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates will likely approve the plans when they meet their counterparts in Seoul on July 21, he said.

China, North Korea's only real ally and benefactor, has closely followed the possibility of U.S. military exercises in the Yellow Sea. It has voiced concern about reports that a U.S. aircraft carrier may be involved.

Morrell said Beijing had no say about the drills, however.

"Obviously (the Chinese) are a regional power and a country ... whose opinion we respect and consider," Morrell said.

"But this is a matter of our ability to exercise in open seas, in international waters. Those determinations are made by us and us alone."

The United States has about 28,000 forces in South Korea, which remains technically at war with the North nearly six decades after the end of the 1950-1953 Korean War.

The U.S. military had long planned to hand over potential wartime operational control of South Korean forces by 2012, should conflict break out on the Korean Peninsula again.

But President Barack Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak agreed last month to push back that date until the second half of 2015.

The delay was meant to send a clear message about U.S. staying power in the region and had been under discussion months before warship's sinking, U.S. officials have said.

Morrell said the delay would allow a broader transfer of responsibilities, including off the ground operations command.

"This will allow us to make sure we are all synched up and ultimately be stronger as an alliance for having taken the time to do so," he told reporters at the Pentagon.

(Editing by Mohammad Zargham)