The south Korean military staged DPRK-targeted military exercises Thaeguk and Hoguk from October 29 to November 9.
They had used to conduct the Thaeguk military drill in May and June every year, but this year they postponed it in consideration of inter-Korean reconciliation and DPRK-US dialogue.
The simultaneous staging of these drills has revealed that they are sharpening the sword of confrontation with the fellow countrymen, though they are trumpeting military trust building on the Korean peninsula.
They claim the exercises are irrelevant to north-south agreements as they are “rehearsals related to the transfer of wartime operations control” and “annual drills of defensive character”.
Dialogue and peace are incompatible with military confrontation and war games.
If south Korea clings to war games targeting the north, though it shook hands with its dialogue partner at the negotiating table, it would be impossible to expect the establishment of a genuine peace mechanism on the peninsula and the current of improved inter-Korean relations towards peace and prosperity, which was produced by rounds of north-south summit meetings and talks, would be harmed.
Press release on Enlarged Meeting of 13th Plenary Meeting of Eighth Central Committee of WPK
The Enlarged Meeting of the 13th Plenary Meeting of the Eighth Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea was held from
December 12, 2025
The Enlarged Meeting of the 13th Plenary Meeting of the Eighth Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea was held from
