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South Korea proposes changes to joint US drills as Pyongyang shuns talks
The comments from Seoul’s unification minister came hours after Pyongyang had rebuffed South Korea’s peace overtures
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South Korea’s new Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said on Monday he planned to recommend to President Lee Jae-myung that the coming South Korea-US joint military exercises be adjusted as part of efforts to restore peace and stability on the Korean peninsula.
His remarks came just hours after Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, accused the Lee administration of “blindly adhering” to the South Korea-US alliance and declared that Pyongyang had no intention of engaging in dialogue with Seoul.
In the North’s first official response to Lee’s series of peace overtures since he took office last month, Kim Yo-jong stated Pyongyang had no interest in any of Seoul’s proposals for reconciliation.
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When asked whether he would formally propose an adjustment to the joint military drills, Chung replied: “Yes, I have such an intent to do so.” The Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise is scheduled to begin in three weeks in South Korea.
Chung emphasised that the Lee government’s approach to North Korea differed significantly from that of former conservative president Yoon Suk-yeol. During Yoon’s term in office, his hardline stance only deepened inter-Korean tensions, Chung said, adding that the issue would be discussed at a National Security Council (NSC) working-level meeting on Tuesday.
If Lee were to accept the recommendation along with Washington’s agreement to the changes, a potential scaling down of the joint drills could help reduce tensions in the Korean peninsula, observers say.
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