NK threatens to go back on reunions

A 77-year-old man surnamed Lee whose family members were separated during the Korean War (1950-53) wipes away tears at the Red Cross office in Namsan-dong, Seoul, Friday. North Korea called on South Korea to scrap upcoming military drills with the U.S., threatening to withdraw the latest inter-Korean agreement to hold family reunions later this month. / Yonhap

By Kim Tae-gyu

Pyongyang urged Seoul Thursday to cancel its upcoming joint military war games with Washington as part of its conditions for participating in the family reunions on Feb. 20-25 at Mt. Geumgang, a day after the two countries reached the agreement on the schedules.

It also threatened to withdraw from the reunions if Seoul does not stop its negative campaigns against the regime and its dictator Kim Jong-un.

Yet, the Ministry of National Defense said that it has no plan to revise the schedule of the two-week Key Resolve, which is expected to start during the reunions. The precise timetable will be announced early next week.

"It does not make sense to have family reunions while detrimental nuclear drills are underway," the North's National Defense Commission said in a statement aired by its state-run radio.

"It is outrageous to forge ahead with exercises for aggressions, which are opposed by the other side, at a time when crucial matters are agreed for execution for national reconciliation and unity."

The powerful commission added that it will backpedal on the agreement for the family reunions if the South's slander of the North and its leader Kim persists.

In reaction, Seoul demanded Pyongyang carry through the agreement on the reunions.

"It's like hammering a nail in the heart of the separated families that North Korea threatens to cancel the family reunion program overnight," said Kim Eui-do, the spokesman for the Unification Ministry. "As we have stressed, the Key Resolve is an annual defensive drill and has nothing to do with the family reunion event."

This is not the first time that the North has demanded the cancellation of the yearly ROK-U.S. joint military exercises but this latest one is gaining attention since it came before what would be the first family reunions in three years.

There are however concerns that the humanitarian event risks falling apart just like the previous event that was scheduled for last September only for the North to unilaterally withdraw from the plan four days before its official start.

Even in the face of strong criticisms from the North, the South has never changed its Key Resolve, previously known as Team Spirit or RSOI — a computer-simulated exercise that Seoul and Washington say is defensive in nature.

But Pyongyang has countered that it is a prelude to a northward invasion aimed at shaking the North's regime.

More than 28,000 U.S. troops are currently stationed in South Korea, a legacy of the Korean War (1950-53), which also separated numerous families most of whom have yet to have the chance to meet.

The North's requests would be plaguing President Park Geun-hye, who has fumed at its unilateral withdrawal last September. She expressed relief over the inter-Korean deal, which is hoped to improve strained ties between the two countries on early Thursday.

In response to Pyongyang's angry remarks over B-52s, the U.S. Pacific Command said Thursday it has "maintained a rotational strategic bomber presence in the region for more than a decade," without elaborating on operational details of specific missions.

"These aircraft, and the men and women who fly them, provide a significant capability that enables our readiness and commitment to extended deterrence, provides assurances to our allies, and strengthens regional security and stability in the Asia-Pacific region," the U.S. Pacific Command said in an e-mailed statement.

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