ROK halts drills to improve ties with DPRK

The Republic of Korea has suspended its annual summertime civil defense drills on Tuesday, aimed to keep alive a positive atmosphere to improve ties with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

A Chinese expert called it a positive step to easing strained tensions on the Korean Peninsula, yet warning all parties not to be too optimistic.

According to a joint statement from the ROK’s Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, the ROK decided to halt its Ulchi domestic drill this year in consideration of the improved relations with the DPRK and “changing security circumstances” on the peninsula.

Kim Boo-kyum, the ROK’s Minister of the Interior and Safety, said the suspension was a follow-up to the suspension of joint military exercises by the ROK and the United States amid recent changes in “South-North relations and other security situations”.

The Ulchi domestic drill is the ROK’s biggest annual civilian training to check the warfare preparedness and the crisis management, mobilizing some 480,000 officials from government offices and public institutions, according to the Yonhap news agency.

From 2008, the Ulchi and the Freedom Guardian military exercise, a ROK-US joint war game, were integrated into the Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercises.

The cancellation of the Ulchi drill came after Seoul and Washington announced the halt of the Freedom Guardian annual exercise, slated for August, on June 19.

Pyongyang has long accused the UFG and other ROK-US joint military drills as an invasion rehearsal.

The ROK statement said it would develop a new drill model by incorporating the Ulchi and the existing Taeguk command post exercises.

Yang Xiyu, an expert in AsiaPacific security research at the China Institute of International Studies, said it is “a constructive gesture” for Seoul to suspend the drill in line with the international call for stability and peace in the region.

Yang also said, however, considering the unprecedented level of tensions there and the fluctuating relations between Pyongyang and Washington, more reconciliatory efforts are needed to change the overall bleak mood in the region.

Xinhua contributed to this story.