US and South Korea to conduct joint military exercises in August
A senior South Korean official said yesterday (July 20) that the US-South Korea military exercise will go ahead as planned in August 2019.
The official also rejected North Korea's accusation that conducting the drills violated an agreement between US President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
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| US and South Korean military aircraft during the annual joint Foal Eagle exercise. Photo: AP. |
Choi Jong-kun, secretary for peace planning for South Korean President Moon Jae-in, said the nature of the exercise was not provocation but aimed at strengthening the US-South Korea alliance. He said the exercise next month would be largely computer simulations and would not involve troops on the ground.
A few days ago, a spokesman for the North Korean Foreign Ministry said that the US decision to conduct the drills was a clear violation of the agreements reached by the US and North Korean leaders at the Singapore Summit in 2018, and that the move would undermine the possibility of North Korea resuming nuclear negotiations with the US. The spokesman for the North Korean Foreign Ministry said that the "unilateral abandonment of US commitments" had forced North Korea to reconsider its commitment to testing nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has rejected North Korea's accusations that annual military exercises between the US and South Korea violate an agreement between leader Kim Jong Un and US President Trump. He said the time for working-level talks between the US and North Korea could soon take place in two to three weeks./.