The US and South Korean militaries were wrapping up their annual drills six days earlier than initially scheduled in a conciliatory gesture towards North Korea yesterday, though the North said the step isn’t enough to convince it to return to talks.
US President Donald Trump had earlier abruptly ordered the Pentagon to “substantially reduce” the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises just before they began Monday.
Trump cited what he described as a good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korea’s refusal to support him over the Iran conflict.
Kim Yo-jong, Kim’s influential sister, brushed aside Trump’s overture on Wednesday, saying “the provocative, aggressive nature of the drills” won’t change only with the reduction of their duration and size.
The next day, North Korea fired about 10 short-range ballistic missiles towards the sea, apparently following through with its previous threat to respond to the US-South Korean drills that it views as an invasion rehearsal.
The US Pacific Command said the events didn’t pose an immediate threat to US territory or its allies. The command said the US remains committed to the defence of the US homeland and its allies.
Yo-jong’s statement dampened hopes for an early resumption of talks between Trump and Jong-un, whose earlier nuclear diplomacy collapsed in 2019.
Jong-un has used the diplomatic stalemate to increase his leverage by modernising his nuclear and missile programmes and aligning with Russia over its war against Ukraine.
Jong-un suggested last year that he won’t return to talks unless the United States drops its demand for North Korean denuclearisation as a precondition for diplomacy. — AP
