#news : S Korean military denies reports of imminent firing exercises

SEOUL, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- South Korean military officials denied Thursday media reports that the military will soon resume routine live-fire exercises.

"Our position is that the drills will be resumed at an appropriate time," an official at the defense ministry in Seoul told Xinhua. He declined to further divulge.

Local reports said the military will restart shooting drills, originally slated for Nov 23-24 but suspended after Pyongyang's artillery bombardment on a South Korean border island last Tuesday, as early as Thursday afternoon. The exercises are expected to be conducted from 29 sites around the country.

Reports come after Seoul and Washington wrapped up their latest naval drills in the Yellow Sea Wednesday, where the two Koreas traded fire near a disputed western sea border.

Pyongyang, claiming its bombardment of the western island was for self-defense, denounced the war games for bringing the region closer to war.

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