SEOUL, March 25 (Xinhua) -- South Korea and the United States launched two large-scale joint military exercises on Saturday as scheduled, according to South Korean officials.

    The annual exercises, Foal Eagle and RSOI (Reception, Staging, Onward Movement and Integration), will be held simultaneously for one week from March 23 to 31 on and near the Korean Peninsula, they said.

    The exercises will involve 17,000 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea and 3,000 U.S. soldiers from the Pacific region as well as an unspecified number of South Korean soldiers.

    South Korean and U.S. military officials previously said the combined exercises focus on boosting defense abilities rather than aggressive tactics.

    RSOI aims to hone the combined South Korean and U.S. forces' ability to receive and integrate forces from outside the country. Foal Eagle focuses on rear-area security and stability operations, onward movement of critical assets and select war-fighting training events.

    U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln will participate in this year's exercises for the first time. Last year, the USS Kitty Hawk, based in Yokosuka, Japan, participated in the exercises.

    This year's exercises will also involve Stryker armored vehicles from the United States.

    South Korea and the United States have conducted Foal Eagle since 1964 and RSOI since 1994, and the two exercises have been held at the same time since 2002.

    The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) condemned the joint military games, calling on South Korea to cancel the exercises. It expressed dissatisfaction by postponing a scheduled inter-Korean ministerial talks originally to be held at the end of March in Pyongyang.

    The United States currently deploys about 30,000 troops in South Korea. Enditem