KCNA Commentary Hits U.S.-S. Korea Joint Military Exercises

  Pyongyang, January 16 (KCNA) -- The bellicose forces of the United States and south Korea are bringing dark clouds of a war again to the Korean Peninsula at the beginning of the year, in disregard of the desire of the DPRK and the international community for peace and stability.
    With the U.S. deploying its aggression forces massively in areas close to the Military Demarcation Line, they announced that huge Key Resolve and Foal Eagle joint military exercises would be staged for months from the end of February.
    The projected exercises, involving the U.S. 3rd marine task force to deploy before all others on the Korean Peninsula in case of emergency, will be the biggest military rehearsal in scale after the 1989 Team Spirit.
    Its purpose is apparently to take control of nuclear facilities in the DPRK and occupy Pyongyang in case of "emergency in the north".
    This is another serious military provocation to the DPRK and an outright challenge to its good faith and the public opinion at home and abroad as it is aimed to drive the situation of the Korean Peninsula again to phase of confrontation.
    No matter how vociferously the U.S. may talk about other's "threat" and about its role in "defending peace", it can no longer cover up its nature of the very one who has continued aggravating the situation on the peninsula cyclically.
    Ensuring peace on the Korean Peninsula is an important link in the chain for securing regional peace and stability and, furthermore, global peace.
    That is why the DPRK's principled stand and sincere measures clarified in the New Year to ease tension, defend peace on the peninsula and improve the north-south relations have commanded full support and aroused a great response from peoples at home and abroad.
    The U.S. and south Korean bellicose forces have made provocative remarks from the beginning of the year only to come under criticism of the world community. They are describing the projected military exercises as "annual" and "defensive", but it is no more than sophism to cover up the aggressive nature of the exercises and their insidious intention.
    It is a bad habit of the U.S. imperialists and the south Korean puppet forces to annually stage large-scale war drills all the year round, extremely aggravating the situation.
    Such war moves of several decades have only engendered antagonism and hostility among the Korean nation, resulting in bedeviled north-south relations, escalated tension and increased war danger in the Korean Peninsula and the region.
    The recent announcement of joint war exercises is tantamount to the total denial of improved relations and dialogue between the north and the south of Korea and a declaration of overall nuclear showdown.
    The provokers had better ponder over the serious consequences to be entailed by the exercises. -0-