'Planned US-S Korea military drills pose barrier to peace'
Frank Smith
Press TV, Seoul
Joint military drills involving the US and South Korea are scheduled to go ahead this spring, says South Korea’s minister of defense and military officials under US President Joe Biden. But nearly 400 NGOs around the world have signed a joint statement calling for the drills to be scrapped, in the hopes of improving relations with North Korea and promoting a lasting peace.
The annual exercises, some of which are computer-simulated war games, are viewed by Pyongyang as a threat and a rehearsal for invasion.
The joint US-South Korea military exercises have been suspended before, early in the 1990s, when Washington sought to calm tensions. Previous US president Donald Trump, also scaled back the drills following his first summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in 2018.
The North’s Kim then pledged to suspend nuclear and long-range missile testing, with subsequent meetings between Kim and Trump failing to yield results, or much for North Korea in return for its moratorium on testing nuclear weapons.
US-led sanctions against Pyongyang remain in place. South Korea keeps buying more advanced US weapons, and now more military exercises are planned. Some activists view the war drills as counterproductive.
North Korea has continued developing other military technologies, introducing a submarine-launched ballistic missile at a recent military parade.
While seemingly committed to the drills, new US officials have said they’re reviewing North Korea policy, as experts call on Pyongyang to be patient.
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