We begin on the Korean peninsula, where joint US-South Korean military drills have entered their final day in the Yellow Sea.

The allies conducted a mock inspection of ships suspected of carrying weapons of mass destruction. They also held air defensive exercises using radar systems from destroyers.

The four-day exercises follow mounting tension on the Korean peninsula, after an artillery exchange fire on an island between the DPRK and South Korea last Tuesday.

A senior US official says the drill aims to consolidate the US-South Korean alliance and send a strong deterrent signal to the DPRK.