The "Keen Sword" drills were planned before North Korea's deadly artillery barrage of a South Korean island last week but come just days after the United States and South Korea conducted smaller exercises aimed at deterring Pyongyang.

The drills are being held to mark the 50th anniversary of the Japanese-US alliance, Japanese defence ministry officials said, and last until December 10.

The Pacific allies are for the first time being joined by South Korean military observers, in a bid by Tokyo to demonstrate solidarity among the three countries at a time of high tension in the region.

The massive exercise features around 44,000 military personnel, 60 warships and 400 aircraft from both sides in a drill off Japan's southern islands, close to the coast of South Korea and in the Sea of Japan (East Sea).

The US nuclear-powered George Washington aircraft carrier, which also took part in the US-South Korean exercises, joined Japan's Aegis missile-equipped destroyers and F-15 jet fighters as heavy wind and rain lashed the first day.

The joint drills will be much bigger than a naval exercise staged by Washington and Seoul this week after Pyongyang stunned the world with an artillery strike on a South Korean border island that killed four people.

Japan, which relies heavily on the United States for its security under its pacifist constitution, has been on high alert since the attack.

China's newly assertive posture on territorial issues this year has also been a cause for concern for Tokyo and other Asian nations, in a region where Washington is seen as an important counterbalance.

The manoeuvres include integrated air and missile defence, base security, close air support, live-fire training, maritime defence and search and rescue.

The inclusion of South Korean observers follows Japan's sending of observers to joint US-South Korean military exercises in July, held after the sinking of the Cheonan, a 1,200-tonne South Korean naval vessel.

An international investigation blamed North Korea for the sinking, which left 46 South Korean sailors dead.

Beijing has hit back at the military manoeuvres, which it sees as taking place in its backyard, saying to talk with the nuclear-armed regime is better than to "brandish weapons".

China has come under pressure to come down hard on the regime of Kim Jong-Il, who this year twice visited the powerful neighbour, which has given Kim's impoverished country a lifeline of food, energy and diplomatic cover.

Washington, Tokyo and Seoul have snubbed Beijing's proposal for six-way crisis talks that would also include Moscow and Pyongyang -- instead scheduling their own three-way foreign ministers' talks in Washington next Monday.

China complained it was being unfairly criticised for urging dialogue, and suggested talks with the North would be more helpful than military exercises, as South Korea also readied for new live-fire drills next week.

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