KCNA Commentary Terms U.S.-S. Korea Joint Military Exercises Aggressive, Not Defensive

Pyongyang, April 27 (KCNA) -- The U.S. and the south Korean authorities keep pushing the situation of the Korean peninsula and the region to an undesirable phase, defying public criticism and opposition at home and abroad.

As known, the U.S. and the south Korean military war-like forces mull staging Alliance 19-2 exercises to replace Ulji Freedom Guardian in coming August, not content with holding Alliance 19-1 that replaced Key Resolve exercises in March.

This is a crude violation of the agreement reached at the historic north-south summit and the DPRK-U.S. summit and a provocative act to chill the hard-won atmosphere of peace on the Korean peninsula.

At the historic Singapore DPRK-U.S. summit the U.S. officially stated and declared before the world that it would suspend the U.S.-south Korea joint military exercises which are regarded as a provocation by the DPRK during the period when the DPRK-U.S. dialogue is under way.

The south Korean authorities also welcomed it and committed themselves to positively taking practical measures for lasting and durable peace at several contacts with the DPRK.

But those perfidious forces in the U.S. and south Korea backtracked on the commitment they made with the DPRK and are justifying their offending project while touting "cut-down" in the size of the exercises and terming it "defensive".

This can not but be viewed as an intolerable mockery and insult to the desire and wish of the public for peace on the Korean peninsula.

Those forces are mistaken if they think they can conceal the provocative and aggressive nature of the exercises by changing the codename of the exercises and cutting down their size.

It is a unanimous view of the international community that despite the reduction in size, the U.S. and south Korea will get further braced up in the military aspect.

This is proven by the announcement by the U.S. Department of Defence that "the military preparedness will be kept as usual despite the adjustment of the large-scale combined military exercises" and the statement by the south Korean military authorities that "size is not important and the programme of the exercises will be further substantiated as the exercises will be based on computer simulation".

Moreover, Alliance 19-2 exercises envisages an attack drill meant "rebuff" and the south Korean military plans to reflect the expansion of armed forces deployment to the whole areas of the northern half of Korea in its "future ground force redeployment plan". This betrays the warlike forces' intention to stifle the DPRK.

The situation clearly proves that the joint military exercises constitute an aggression war, not for defence, and an unpardonable act of hostility toward the DPRK, the dialogue partner.

We are closely following the double-sided acts of the U.S. and the south Korean authorities getting intent on making the case for discord behind the scene, despite their lip-service for "peace" and "dialogue".

The U.S. and the south Korean authorities had better think twice, mindful that their thoughtless saber-rattling will bring miserable repentance and catastrophic results only. -0-