KCNA Commentary Urges U.S., S. Korean Authorities to Stop Planned Joint Military Exercises

Pyongyang, June 28 (KCNA) -- The U.S. and the south Korean authorities have become intent on the preparations for joint military exercises Alliance 19-2 which they agreed to hold this coming August.

In April they made a tentative decision to hold Alliance 19-2 from August 11 to 20 to replace Ulji Freedom Guardian.

Now they build up the public opinion to justify the exercises after making them an established one.

As part of the moves, the acting U.S. Defense secretary during his recent visit to south Korea had talks with the south Korean Defense minister where he announced to go ahead with Alliance 19-2 as scheduled, claiming "south Korea and the U.S. are ready to counter any act of the north disturbing stability."

This indicates their sinister intention to proceed with the exercises in defiance of the repeated warnings from the DPRK. This, therefore, amounts to a wanton challenge to the desire and expectation of all the Koreans and the international community for peace and stability on the Korean peninsula and an act to create the atmosphere of confrontation and danger of war again.

Now the entire Korean nation and the international community earnestly hope that durable and lasting peace would settle on the peninsula through the thorough implementation of the historic Singapore DPRK-U.S. joint statement, north-south declarations and the north-south agreement in military field.

The U.S. and the south Korean authorities, however, are intent to press for the war exercises against the DPRK, calling them "verification exercises for the return of wartime operation control and low-intensity exercises".

As was reported by the south Korean media, Alliance 19-2 is aimed to get proficiency in the procedures for judging the scale of the U.S. reinforcements needed for sort of "deterrence and repulse" and requesting them in case of emergency on the Korean peninsula under the signboard of "combined crisis control". The exercises are, in fact, a war rehearsal to get familiar with preemptive strike and attack at the DPRK and light the fuse of the war of aggression against it any moment.

One can not but be dubious as to the difference of the projected exercises from Ulji Freedom Guardian in their program and essence. Ulji Freedom Guardian was about mounting a preemptive attack with the conventional armed forces and nuclear strike means once the north's military move is detected.

Intolerable is to veil the north-targeted joint military exercises with different name despite the demand for "dialogue and peace".

The south Korean authorities should stop harmful acts at once, mindful that their reckless military provocations in reliance on the U.S. will divest them of the valuable opportunity for the improvement of the north-south relations.

A complete stop to the U.S.-south Korea joint military exercises is the unanimous demand of the entire Korean nation and the international community. -0-