The U.S. says the South Korea-U.S. joint antisubmarine drills in the Yellow Sea scheduled for early next month will send a clear message to North Korea.

Announcing the planned exercise in a briefing, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the drill sends a clear message to Pyongyang that the U.S. is committed to the defense of South Korea.

He said that the U.S. commitment is unequivocal and that the drills are intended to deter North Korea from future destabilizing attacks, such as the sinking of the "Cheonan" warship, and to confirm Seoul and Washington's resolve to maintain regional security.

On China's expected protest to the drills, Whitman said that the exercises are held on the open seas and that Beijing has no reason to consider them a security threat.