(July 15, 2010) SEOUL – The U.S. government is apparently debating how to stage joint exercises with South Korea not only this month but all year round as a response to North Korea’s torpedo attack on the South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan in March.

A diplomatic source in Washington on Tuesday said the U.S. is thinking a lot about these joint exercises “to deliver a clear message to the North.”

Following the planned joint drill this month, the two countries will further upgrade the Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise, which is staged in August every year, and may also possibly conduct various other kinds of drills.

At the moment, they are through diplomatic channels discussing the option of declaring start of joint drills at the “two plus two” meeting of foreign and defense ministers in Seoul on July 21.

Another source talked about the participation of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier George Washington in the upcoming drill as a fait accompli, saying it would be “strange” if the George Washington, which has left a Japanese port, does not take part.

Given its operating radius of hundreds of kilometers, the carrier will highly likely travel to the South Sea or the East Sea for support operations, instead of to the West Sea, an area China and North Korea feel extremely sensitive about.

The U.S. State Department on Tuesday merely said the U.S. is still discussing the matter.

State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said in a press briefing, “We don’t have any announcements at this point on joint exercises. This is an issue that we continue to discuss with the [South] Korean government.”

Meanwhile, the Obama administration has reportedly decided to delay announcing its own additional sanctions against North Korea, including tighter financial sanctions.

Originally reported by the Chosun Ilbo.

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