Seoul, Aug 7 (IANS) A senior unification ministry official of South Korea said on Thursday that this year’s annual summertime joint military exercise with the United States was “adjusted” as part of efforts to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula, following a decision to reschedule about half of its field drills to next month.
The remarks came shortly after Seoul and Washington announced that the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise will take place as planned from August 18-28, although 20 of the originally scheduled drills under the exercise have been postponed to next month.
The UFS exercise is an 11-day exercise conducted by the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the United States, consisting of training to reflect the Korea Theatre of Operations — a combined, joint, multi-domain and interagency operating environment.
Military officials cited the ongoing heat wave and flood damage as reasons for the partial postponement, though protests from North Korea also appear to have been taken into consideration, Yonhap news agency reported.
A senior unification ministry official described the decision as an “adjustment” aimed at easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula under the Lee Jae Myung administration.
“The goal is to alleviate tensions and build peace and stability,” the official told reporters on condition of anonymity, adding that the objective is shared by both the ministry and the Lee administration.
“I hope (this) will contribute to easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula,” the official added.
Adjusting the UFS has been a key focus in inter-Korean relations since Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korea leader Kim Jong-un, protested the exercise, describing the Lee administration as no different from his hard-line predecessor in a statement last week.
Unification Minister Chung Dong-young immediately said he would propose adjusting the UFS exercise to President Lee as part of efforts to improve relations with Pyongyang.
The North Korean regime typically denounces joint military exercises between Seoul and Washington as war rehearsals and reacts furiously to them.
–IANS
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