A look at US-S. Korea war games and how North might respond

FILE - In this March 30, 2015, file photo, Marines of South Korea, right and the U.S aim their weapons near amphibious assault vehicles during the U.S.-South Korea joint landing military exercises as a part of the annual joint military exercise Foal Eagle between South Korea and the United States in Pohang, South Korea. America’s annual joint military exercises with South Korea always frustrate North Korea. The war games set to begin Monday, Aug. 21, 2017 may hold more potential to provoke than ever, given President Donald Trump’s “fire and fury” threats and Pyongyang’s as-yet-unpursued plan to launch missiles close to Guam. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File) FILE - In this March 30, 2015, file photo, Marines of South Korea, right and the U.S aim their weapons near amphibious assault vehicles during the U.S.-South Korea joint landing military exercises as a part of the annual joint military exercise Foal Eagle between South Korea and the United States in Pohang, South Korea. America’s annual joint military exercises with South Korea always frustrate North Korea. The war games set to begin Monday, Aug. 21, 2017 may hold more potential to provoke than ever, given President Donald Trump’s “fire and fury” threats and Pyongyang’s as-yet-unpursued plan to launch missiles close to Guam. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File)

By Associated Press August 18, 2017 5 min read

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – America’s annual joint military exercises with South Korea always frustrate North Korea. The war games set to begin Monday may hold more potential to provoke than ever, given President Donald Trump’s “fire and fury” threats and Pyongyang’s as-yet-unpursued plan to launch missiles close to Guam.

Will the allies keep it low-key, or focus on projecting strength? An examination of this year’s drills and how the North might respond to them:

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THE WAR GAMES

The Ulchi Freedom Guardian drills will be the first joint military exercise between the allies since North Korea successfully flight-tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles in July and threatened to bracket Guam with intermediate range ballistic missile fire in August.