South Korean officials: Affected by the epidemic, South Korea and the United States consider canceling the August military exercise

South Korea and the United States consider canceling the August military exercise

　　Yang Shuyi

　　South Korean informed officials disclosed that affected by the new crown epidemic, South Korea and the United States are considering canceling the joint military exercise scheduled for August.

　　"Korea Herald" quoted multiple sources this month as saying that South Korea and the United States are believed to be considering whether to cancel this round of military exercises or reduce the scale of military exercises.

　　The joint command post exercise in the first half of this year was originally scheduled to be held in March, but in consideration of the need to prevent and control the new crown epidemic, it was finally decided to postpone it. According to South Korean media, South Korea and the United States have postponed joint military exercises in the past, but most of them were for diplomatic needs related to peace negotiations on the Korean peninsula. This was the first time postponement was due to public health issues.

　　North Korea has always resolutely opposed and condemned the South Korea-US joint military exercise, and regarded them as provocations, preparing for the invasion of North Korea.

　　The DPRK and US leaders met three times in Singapore, Hanoi and Panmunjom from June 2018 to June 2019. After the meeting in Singapore, the US announced a suspension of the joint US-ROK military exercise. South Korea and the United States agreed to terminate the "critical decisions" "vultures" and "Yizhi Liberty Guardian" three major military exercises, replaced by small-scale exercises or subject exercises.

　　It is worth noting that the South Korean side is seeking to recover wartime operational command from the United States. This handover plan includes a three-stage assessment. The first-stage assessment has been completed in 2019. Many people originally hoped to complete the second-stage assessment during the military exercise in August this year and the third-stage assessment next year. The South Korean side is expected to withdraw the war in 2022 Operational command.

　　Since the early 1950s, South Korean military command has long been controlled by the US military stationed in South Korea. In 1994, South Korea regained military command in peacetime, but did not regain command in wartime operations. In October 2014, the United States and South Korea agreed to postpone the transfer time from the original 2015 to 2020. During his campaign for the presidency, Wen Zaiyin promised to withdraw command of wartime during his tenure.

　　Some people worry that if the military exercise is cancelled in August, the ROK’s progress in recovering wartime operational command from the US will be affected.

　　According to the epidemic data released on the 4th by the Central Ministry of Epidemic Prevention of Korea, as of 0:00 on the same day, South Korea added 63 more confirmed cases than the previous day, and the number of new cases in a single day exceeded 60 for two consecutive days; the cumulative number of confirmed cases was 13030; There were 283 deaths. (End) (Special Feature for Xinhua News Agency)