N. Korea slams planned S. Korea-U.S. military drill

SEOUL, July 26 (Yonhap) -- North Korea lashed out at South Korea's planned
military exercise with the United States Sunday, saying it is a provocative act
against the communist country.
South Korea and the U.S. plan to conduct Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG), an annual
joint military exercise in which about 56,000 South Korean troops and 10,000 U.S.
soldiers will participate, from Aug. 17-27.
The exercise is "a military plan aimed at invading the North, given its content
and size," Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency and the Korean Central
TV Broadcasting Station said.
The military exercise sheds light on "the shady intention harbored behind the
South's banner of peace guarantee and dialogue," they said.
South Korea and the U.S. claim UFG is a defensive drill that is basically a
computer-simulated war scenario.
The joint exercise comes as tension runs high on the Korean Peninsula. North
Korea conducted a nuclear test in May and fired several missiles into the East
Sea, for which the United Nations has imposed sanctions on the communist country.
Washington currently maintains some 28,500 troops in Korea as a deterrent against
provocations from North Korea. The two Koreas remain technically at war as the
1950-53 Korean War ended only with an armistice, not a peace treaty.
pbr@yna.co.kr
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