North Korea Unhappy About Scaled Down US-ROK Military Drills

The change in the US-ROK joint military exercises I think was more for international consumption than what the Kim regime thinks. The Trump administration likely knew the Kim regime would protest the military drills since they did not get what they wanted from the Hanoi Summit. The Trump administration beat them to the punch by messaging how the drills were cancelled and replaced with scaled down drills. Now North Korea’s complaints seem hollow:

North Korea on Thursday (March 7) attacked ongoing joint military exercises between Seoul and Washington as an “all out challenge” to moves towards peace on the Korean peninsula.
The US and South Korea agreed on Sunday to replace two major war games that take place every spring – the Key Resolve and Foal Eagle drills – with a shorter “Dong Maeng” or “Alliance” exercise which kicked off this week.
The move was designed to further ease tensions with the North following the dramatic detente since early 2018. (……)

But the North’s official KCNA news agency has now warned that the ongoing nine-day drills were an “all out challenge” against efforts for peace and stability.

“The suspicious activities by the US and South Korean military are a reckless violation of the joint statement signed by Washington and Pyongyang and North-South declarations that commit to ending hostilities and easing military tensions,” it said.

New Straits Times

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