US, SKorea open to expanded military drills to deter North
Source: AP
By AAMER MADHANI and JOSH BOAK
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — U.S. President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said after meeting Saturday that they will consider expanded joint military exercises to deter the nuclear threat from North Korea at a time when there’s little hope of real diplomacy on the matter.
The announcement reflects a shift in direction by both leaders from their predecessors: Former U.S. President Donald Trump had considered scrapping the exercises and expressed affection for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. And the last South Korean president, Moon Jae-in, remained committed to dialogue with Kim to the end of his term despite being repeatedly rebuffed by the North.
Biden said cooperation between the U.S. and South Korea shows “our readiness to take on all threats together.”
North Korea, which has defended its nuclear weapons and missile development as a necessary deterrence against what it describes as U.S. threats, could well respond angrily to Saturday’s announcement. It has long described joint military exercises as rehearsals for an invasion, although the allies have portrayed the drills as defensive.
U.S. President Joe Biden, left, speaks as South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol listens during a news conference at the People's House inside the Ministry of National Defense, Saturday, May 21, 2022, in Seoul, South Korea. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-biden-south-korea-e88d5ab9efef05dc502f429c4be168d8
= new reply since forum marked as read
I wrote this interpretation from the sources I follow:
https://civilizationdiscontents.blogspot.com/2022/05/biden-moves-into-void-created-by.html
(Source- 언론 알아야 바꾼다 youtube 5.16 ) Cartoon lampooning President Yoon Seok-yeol's press coverage inside and outside mainstream media. (Above in a suit) Inside, known for his taste for rich foods, in fact his visits to restaurants and markets to purchase foods (and liquor) are widely reported in the media. The reference to 화장실 hwa jangshil (bathroom) is probably a play on words, reflecting his tendency to go off on people ( 이봐! 응?,응? ). (Below- dressed as a Shaman or Mudang) Outside (unconventional) media focus on Yoon's superstitious beliefs in wizardry and cults, his partronage of shamanism, his general hatreds (working class, political dissent, media critics, Africans, political rivals), and his characterization as the K-Trump.
Last night I saw a video clip of him trying to tell the South Korean press that the IPEF wasn't anti-China, and he encourages them to join. If his mouth is moving...
Oops I left his hatred of feminism off the list, big oversight. He was stumped at the press conference when asked why his cabinet was short on women.
