[Appeal from the AINDF National Reunification Committee]

[Appeal from the AINDF National Reunification Committee]

Dear friends and comrades,

We¡¯re pleased to extend our warm comradely greetings to you.

As you know, on February 1 the south Korea-US combined forces command announced that it would stage the joint military exercises codenamed ¡°Key Resolve¡± and ¡°Foal Eagle 08¡± from March 2 to 7 throughout south Korea .

The ¡°Key Resolve¡± drills, renamed from the annual exercises ¡°RSOI¡±, are an exercise of the combined command to complete the preparations of war against north Korea such as reception, staging, onward-movement and integration for the US reinforcements that will be dispatched in contingency of the Korean Peninsula .

The ¡°Foal Eagle¡± drills are typical field maneuver exercises of lading, river-crossing and depth-strike.

The ¡°Key Resolve¡± drills are not different from the former exercises in terms of scope and contents but more dangerous aggressive war drills.

The projected war drills are of great provocation and danger for they are to be staged when the war mongers of US imperialism are letting loose a spate of belligerent remarks and threats against the DPRK and carrying out the modernization of their war equipment in south Korea and introduction of latest weapons into and around south Korea.

The south Korean puppet army staged field maneuver exercises for invading north Korea by mobilizing hundreds of tanks, armored vehicles and planes in the Military Demarcation Line area last January so thus threw a cold blanket over the Korean people advancing along the road of reconciliation, unity and reunification.

These large-scale nuclear war drills for invading north Korea the US and the south Korean war mongers projected despite repeated denunciations of the Korean people and the world peace-loving people are nefarious war drills and dangerous military provocation aimed at stifling the DPRK by means of arms and inflicting nuclear war holocaust upon the Korean nation.

The reality graphically shows that ¡°peace¡±, ¡°dialogue¡± and ¡°improving of relations¡± much hyped by the US are little short of deception to conceal its aggressive nature, and what it pursues in actuality is only confrontation and war.

These provocative war drills to be staged when the reunification atmosphere in the Korean Peninsula gets more fervent than ever before thanks to the historical north-south summit meeting and the October 4 declaration of last October, are anti-nation and anti-reunification acts turning the inter-Korean relations back to that of confrontation and hostility.

Following is the list of troops and war equipment participating in the drills;

- Ground forces

6,000-strong US troops from the mainland and 12,000-strong US troops stationed in south Korea ,

9,000 US troops on standby on the nearby sea,

The ¡°Striker¡± unit of the 1^st brigade of the US 25^th Infantry Division was transported by air to the Daegu airport, south Korea, and deployed at the operation areas on February 15, and the 9^th engineering battalion of the 3^rd navy logistics corps under the US 3^rd expeditionary marines unit entered the Pohang port on February 19 and is running amuck with a south Korean engineering battalion in completing the support mechanism for engineering units in time of combined operations.

- Naval forces

The extra-large nuclear-powered aircraft-carrier ¡°Nimitz¡±, the Aegis cruiser ¡°Preston¡±, the strategic nuclear-powered submarine ¡°Ohio¡± equipped with guided missiles,

- Air forces

24 ¡°F-16¡± deployed at the US airbases in south Korea, ¡°F/A-18¡± pursuit-assault planes, ¡°MC-130¡± special operation plane, ¡°KC-135¡± aerial refueling plane,

¡°B-52¡± and ¡°B-2A¡± strategic bombers in Guam are on standby, and ¡°F-16¡± and ¡°F-15¡± fighters in full readiness at the US bases in Japan,

Now the AINDF, patriotic people and civic organizations from different social strata are dynamically conducting the struggle against the US and war to determinedly frustrate the criminal war drills of the US and the south Korean war-like forces against north Korea and secure the sovereignty and peace of the nation.

We strongly demand that the US stop at once its reckless war provocations, drop its anachronistic hostile policy toward north Korea and immediately withdraw its aggression troops, the main root of tension and war danger in the Korean Peninsula, from south Korea.

The south Korean belligerent forces, too, stop at once the joint military drills with outside forces if they earnestly want the development of inter-Korean relations, peace and reunification of the Korean Peninsula.

Dear friends and comrades,

We avail ourselves of this opportunity to express our belief and expectation that your esteemed organization would send your full support and solidarity to the anti-US anti-war struggle of the Korean nation to smash the US provocative war schemes, terminate the US colonial rule over south Korea and safeguard peace and security of the Korean Peninsula.

We thank you in advance for publishing relevant statement, press release and sending protest message to the White House and the south Korean authorities.

Sincerely yours,

National Reunification Committee of the AINDF

February 23, Juche 97(2008)