Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Lee Soon-jin and Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, the chief commander of American troops stationed in South Korea, jointly inspected a U.S. aircraft carrier on Monday that is participating in a combined military drill here.

The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74), arrived in South Korea earlier in the month to join the Foal Eagle field training, along with its 7,000-strong carrier strike group.

The allies kicked off the annual joint exercise on March 7 for a roughly two-month run.

Coming on the heels of the North's provocative missile launches earlier this month, the joint outing by Lee and Scaparrotti highlight the allies' efforts to deter further provocations.

"The carrier strike group is very important in that it can deter North Korea's provocations at a time of crisis and guarantee naval superiority in the event of emergency," Lee said during the visit earlier in the day.

The general also called on the sailors to "maintain solid capability and posture so they could respond powerfully and resolutely to any kind of enemy provocations."

North Korea fired short- and mid-range ballistic missiles in the East Sea several times in the previous weeks as the allies began their annual military exercises.

The North has routinely denounced the exercises as a dress rehearsal for invasion. (Yonhap)