South Korea and the US kicked off a large-scale joint naval drill involving a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Monday in a fresh display of force to deter North Korean provocations.

The Invincible Spirit program, scheduled to run through Saturday in the waters surrounding the peninsula, came amid soaring speculation that the communist state may stage another long-range missile or nuclear test in celebration of the Oct. 10 anniversary of the founding of its ruling Workers’ Party.

“This drill is designed to show the alliance’s robust resolve for retaliation against a series of North Korean provocations, and improve the two nations’ joint combat capabilities,” Seoul’s Defense Ministry spokesperson Moon Sang-gyun said at a news briefing.

On the prospects for Pyongyang’s provocation, Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesman Col. Jeon Ha-kyu said the regime is seen “ready for a nuclear test at any time and it is a matter of decision” by the leadership.

“With the possibilities of North Korea’s strategic and tactical provocations in mind, we’re closely tracking and monitoring related movements. We are also maintaining a corresponding readiness posture,” Jeon added. 

Put in service in 2003, the 97,000-ton Nimitz-class carrier is capable of carrying about 90 jets including F/A-18 Super Hornet fighters, EA-18G Growler electric warfare planes and E-2C Hawkeye early warning aircraft.

The exercise is expected to mobilize other major assets of the two countries’ Navies, Air Forces and Armies. Among them are some 40 South Korean warships led by the Aegis-equipped destroyer King Sejong the Great, seven US vessels including Ticonderoga-class Aegis missile cruisers, P-3 and P-8 maritime patrol aircraft and Apache helicopters, the Navy here said in a statement.

In the East and West Seas, the allies are slated to carry out the maritime counter special operations force, a program intended to defeat North Korean special agents seeking to penetrate from the rear.

The aircraft carrier strike group, meanwhile, will stage anti-submarine, anti-aircraft, precision-guided striking and carrier escort trainings off the southwestern shores of the peninsula, among other areas.

Since Pyongyang’s fourth nuclear test in January, Washington has dispatched a string of strategic weapons in a show of force, including the B-52 and B-1B bombers, F-22 stealth fighter and USS Ohio nuclear-powered submarine.

Following the North’s torpedoing of a South Korean warship, the allies launched a namesake exercise in July 2010.

By Shin Hyon-hee (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)