pNorth Korea’s state media condemned a US military exercise in the Western Pacific Ocean involving FA-18 Hornet combat jets taking off from a US aircraft carrier on May 3.ppThis US Navy video shows the fighter jets flying over American and South Korean ships in the Sea of Japan.ppThe USS Carl Vinson arrived in the region on April 28a and held joint drills with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. A US missile defense system, THAAD, also became operational in South Korea following missile launches in North Korea.ppPyongyang described US military drills as “reckless military provocation” that would put the Korean peninsula “close to the brink of nuclear war,” CNNa quoted North Korean state media KCNA.