Korea, U.S. Start Preliminary Training for Joint Drills

South Korea and the U.S. start preliminary training on Tuesday ahead of their annual joint military drills that begin next week.

Led by South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, the four days of crisis-management staff training aim to prevent the expansion of conflict or terror into an outright war.

The drills proper run from Aug. 16 until Aug. 26 and are led by Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command. They have been downscaled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

North Korea reacted with fury. Leader Kim Jong-un's sister Yo-jong denounced the drills Tuesday as "perfidious" and warned "a dear price should be paid" for them. She first demanded their cancellation last week.