South Korea urges North to stop 'derogatory remarks' after drills with US cut short

Seoul on Friday urged North Korea to “halt” its “derogatory remarks” against South Korea after US President Donald Trump ordered joint drills with South Korea cut short.

“Derogatory remarks toward our government and president do not help in building mutual trust,” the South Korean Presidential Office said, according to Yonhap News.

“We call on the North to halt unnecessary criticism and march together toward peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula," it added.

Seoul was responding to a statement by North Korean leader’s sister Kim Yo-jong, who said South Korea was “placed in a poor plight of discontinuing the ‘war game’ it liked very much.”

On Sunday, Trump ordered the Pentagon to reduce the 11-day annual Ulchi Freedom Shield drills to five days, which would end on Friday, citing his relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

The North Korean leader’s sister earlier acknowledged “excellent” relations between Kim and Trump, but said “hostile” US policy towards Pyongyang has not changed.

Accusing South Korean President Lee Jae-myung of “double-dealing behaviour,” Kim said he “curried favour with the US in public by uttering shameful words that he pays ‘respects’ for Trump's ‘decisive rollback decision’ and … then talked about ‘independent national defence’ and ‘independent buildup of military capabilities’ to prepare for the ‘worst scenario’.”

Lee has publicly backed Trump's decision and has called for taking back wartime operational control from the US by 2030 and has stressed strengthening defence mechanisms.

Responding to Kim’s statement, Lee’s office on Friday said: “As a party directly involved in building peace on the Korean Peninsula, the government will continue its close cooperation with the US while making proactive efforts to help resume North Korea-US dialogue as a ‘pacemaker.’”

Kim's statement came hours after North Korea launched at least 10 short-range ballistic missiles towards the Sea of Japan, while the US-South Korea drills were ongoing.

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Source: TRT