South Korea and the United States resumed large-scale military exercises on Monday for the first time in several years despite continued nuclear threats from North Korea.
These military exercises could also arouse the ire of the dictatorial regime in the North, which has itself raised its rate of armament tests to an unprecedented level in addition to threatening Seoul and Washington repeatedly.
The exercises named “Ulchi Freedom Shield” are to continue until September 1. The whole thing takes place in South Korea and involves infantry operations, armored vehicles, aerial activities as well as exercises at sea. Tens of thousands of soldiers could be involved.
While Washington and Seoul describe these trainings as defensive operations, North Korea sees them as preparation for a possible invasion which, according to the regime, would justify the production of missiles as well as the possession of nuclear weapons.
A spokesman for South Korea’s Unification Ministry, Cho Joong-hoon, said the government has not detected any signs of unusual movement in the North so far.
In recent years, the United States and South Korea had canceled some of their routine joint exercises in addition to reducing the pace of their computer simulations to promote diplomatic talks with North Korea. The COVID-19 pandemic has also complicated operations.
The “Ulchi Freedom Shield” exercises, which began alongside a national civil defense training program in South Korea, are expected to include simulations of joint attacks, resupply of weapons and fuel to the front, as well as the dismantling of weapons of mass destruction.
The drills come barely a week after the North rejected a proposal by Southern President Yoon Suk Yeol to go ahead with a denuclearization step in exchange for economic benefits. The North has accused Seoul of recycling old proposals already brushed aside by Pyongyang.
Kim Yo-jong, the sister of leader Kim Jong-un, called Seoul’s proposal ridiculous and insisted the North had no intention of parting with an arsenal her brother seems to consider his own. main guarantee of survival.
She sharply criticized President Yoon for continuing his military exercises with the United States as well as his inability to stop civilian activists from ballooning leaflets denouncing the Kim regime across the border.