US-South Korea military exercises: Risk of second inter-Korean war

North Korean Ambassador to the United Nations So Se Pyong made the above statement and warned that current tensions could "lead to a second inter-Korean war".

According to Reuters, speaking at the United Nations on January 15, Mr. So emphasized: "The US has always insisted that North Korea's nuclear tests and the joint military exercises between the US and South Korea are two separate issues. Therefore, the US believes that it would be inappropriate to link these two issues together."

“Moreover, the US and South Korea conducted joint military exercises in the East Sea of ​​North Korea on January 13-14. This is an open challenge to North Korea’s demand that the US and South Korea stop actions that could lead to war and ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula,” So said.

North Korean Ambassador to the United Nations So Se Pyong (Photo Reuters)

Meanwhile, on the same day, US State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf affirmed: "The US continues to encourage South Korea to take steps to improve relations with North Korea if North Korea shows goodwill and complies with international requirements."

“However, North Korea has consistently rejected or ignored US requests,” Harf said, adding that instead North Korea had “mistakenly” demanded that the US and South Korea stop defensive military exercises.

“The North Korean demand is a clear threat to us because the North Koreans want the United States to stop what we have been doing for many years. These are completely transparent exercises, purely defensive in nature. In exchange, the North Koreans would only stop doing things that are prohibited by multiple UN Security Council resolutions. This is a false choice because the terms of exchange are not symmetrical,” Harf said.

Meanwhile, answering a question about North Korea having conducted three nuclear tests in the past and being subject to UN sanctions for defying international warnings not to test atomic devices with the goal of building a nuclear arsenal, Mr. So stated: "North Korea's policy is that in the event of a nuclear war between the US and South Korea, we need to take appropriate countermeasures."

“In case inter-Korean relations become deadlocked and we do nothing, there is a high possibility of war, a second inter-Korean war,” Mr. So affirmed./.

According to VOV