Asia-Pacific

US and South Korea begin military drills for first time in four years

Exercises come as regional tensions rise over Pyongyang’s nuclear programme and Taiwan status

Protesters in Seoul call for an end to the joint military exercise between South Korea and the US. Photograph: EPA

Christian Davies in Seoul
Mon Aug 22 2022 - 14:24

South Korea and the US began their first large-scale joint military exercises in four years on Monday, amid growing tensions over North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme and regional concerns about the future of Taiwan.

The exercises, which will include joint aircraft carrier strike drills and amphibious landing training, represent the first large-scale drills since 2018, when the exercises were scaled down in advance of a summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and then-US president Donald Trump.

The South Korean government also began a four-day civil defence exercise on Monday involving 480,000 people from approximately 4,000 public institutions.

“Only exercises that are identical to an actual battle can firmly defend the lives of our people and the security of our nation,” said South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol. “In order to maintain peace on the Korean peninsula, our watertight security posture must serve as the basis.”

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Mr Kim has blamed the exercises for bringing the Korean peninsula to the “brink of war” and cited the “hostile policy” of South Korea and the US as justification for advancing his country’s nuclear programme.

The drills are being held at a time of growing tension in the region, after a visit to Taiwan by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi provoked a furious response from China. The People’s Liberation Army conducted an unprecedented series of drills close to Taiwan and the US and China have conducted separate war games in southeast Asia.

Pyongyang has also angrily rejected an offer from Mr Yoon of economic assistance in exchange for steps taken towards North Korea’s denuclearisation.

Mr Yoon said the offer did not mean South Korea would give security guarantees to the North Korean regime, but that it did not seek regime change.

“The most important thing is settling sustainable peace between the South and the North,” Mr Yoon said. “And if North Korea naturally changes as a result of our economic and diplomatic assistance, we would welcome that change.”

Kim Yo Jong, Kim’s sister and a high-ranking official, described the South Korean president as a “naive little child” for offering a “copy” of similar failed initiatives of the past.

“I don’t know what kind of flashy plan Seoul will come up with in the future, but I declare now that we will never, ever consider them,” she said.

While eschewing her abusive language, most experts concurred that Mr Yoon’s proposal has little prospect of success with Mr Kim.

Pyongyang has also blamed Seoul for a coronavirus outbreak this year, alleging that South Korea deliberately flew balloons that were contaminated with Covid-19 over the demilitarised zone dividing the Korean peninsula.

“Think of how the fearful clouds of death roamed above our people’s heads, how many people suffered from high fever and pain, and how people struggled in pain and fear terrified of losing beloved children and blood families,” said Kim Yo Jong at an event to declare North Korea’s “victory” over the virus. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2022

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