S. Korea-U.S. to kick off 10-day joint military drill starting Monday

한미 UFG 시작, 북한 도발 여부에 한반도 정세 갈림길
We start this morning with the annual military exercises that begin today,...
South Korea and the United States are holding their Ulchi Freedom Guardian drill,... amid escalating tension on the Korean Peninsula after Pyongyang's launch of two ICBMs... and its threats to strike the U.S. territory of Guam.
North Korea, once again, has been vocal in its objections, warning Seoul and Washington that the exercises could lead to a catastrophe.
Ji Myung-kil starts us off.
The Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise which will run from August 21st to the end of this month... traces its roots to the joint South Korea-U.S. command post exercises back in the 1950s.
Tens of thousands of South Korean and U.S. troops will participate in the drill... to help evaluate and improve combined military procedures which are critical to the defense of the Korean peninsula.
JOINT MILITARY DRILLS
2017 UFG to be similar in size to last year's} This year's drill, much of it computer-simulated, will be similar in size to that of last year's... but it is not known whether the U.S. will be sending strategic assets.
Admiral Harry Harris... the commander of the U.S. Pacific Command is currently visiting South Korea to inspect the joint exercise.

JOINT MILITARY DRILLS
N. Korea fired submarine-launched ballistic missile during 2016 UFG} North Korea, meanwhile, has long denounced the drills, seeing them as a rehearsal for an invasion.
During last year's Ulchi Freedom Guardian,... Pyongyang test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile followed by a fifth nuclear test a few weeks later.
JOINT MILITARY DRILLS
N. Korea says Seoul and Washington 'adding fuel to fire'} On Sunday the North warned that Seoul and Washington are "adding fuel to the fire" and driving the situation on the divided peninsula into a "catastrophe."

JOINT MILITARY DRILLS
Tensions escalated between N. Korea and U.S. in recent weeks } Tensions between North Korea and the U.S. have risen in recent weeks... as their respective leaders' exchanged harsh rhetoric.
Pyongyang had threatened to fire four ballistic missiles near waters off the U.S. territory of Guam... but backed off its threat last week while key U.S. officials played down fears that war with the North was imminent.
Ji Myung-kil, Arirang News.

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