South Korea suspends civil defense exercise

TO keep alive a positive atmosphere for nuclear diplomacy with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, South Korea has suspended its summer time civil defense drills aimed at preparing against a DPRK attack.

Seoul’s decision yesterday to “temporarily suspend” the nationwide civilian drills had been anticipated since the US and South Korea halted their annual military exercises following a summit last month between the US President Donald Trump and DPRK leader Kim Jong Un.

Streets in South Korean cities froze at the sound of air-raid sirens every year during the Ulchi drills in August with cars stopping on roads, pedestrians moving into buildings and subway stations, and government workers evacuating their offices.

Kim Boo-kyum, minister of the interior and safety, said the suspension of the civilian drills was a follow-up to the suspension of the military exercises amid recent changes in “SouthNorth relations and other security situations.” He said the government and military will design a new civil defense program to be launched next year that will be aimed at preparing people for natural disasters and terrorist attacks in addition to military attacks.

“The government will firmly maintain national preparedness for emergency situations,” Kim said in a news conference also attended by Defense Minister Song Young-moo.

After their summit in Singapore, Trump and DPRK leader Kim issued a statement on denuclearization that didn’t describe when and how it would occur. It’s now up to a US delegation led by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to hammer out details in discussions with senior DPRK officials.

The follow-up talks got off to a rocky start, with the DPRK accusing the US of making unilateral demands, though Pompeo called the talks in Pyongyang productive.