Daily Times

South Korea and the US successfully ended their largest-ever joint military drills “Freedom Shield” and “Warrior Shield” on March 23 while Pakistan was celebrating its “Pakistan Day.” The two countries showed their might in the Korean Peninsula despite North Korean concerns and warnings. They went on to the joint drills involving F-15K and KF-16 fighter jets and a B-1B strategic bomber from the US during March 13-23, 2023.

The 11-day military show-off included the largest amphibious landing drills in years involving a US amphibious assault ship. It was done a day after North Korea tested four long-range cruise missiles in protest of South Korea-US largest military drills in the Indo-Pacific. The US news agency Reuters reported quoting the US officials last Thursday, “the core objective of these drills is to strengthen the United States extended deterrence in the region. So, the two countries have staged the US strategic assets in the region to enhance their joint corresponding capabilities against the North’s nuclear and missile threats.”

The USS Makin Island docked at a naval base in the southeastern port city of Busan a day before the amphibious landing drills to join the Ssangyong exercise, which kicked off on March 20 near Pohang on South Korea’s east coast and will last until April 3. About 12,000 sailors and marines from the two countries are taking part, as well as 30 warships, 70 aircraft and 50 amphibious assault vehicles.

The US military representative has said that Makin Island carries 10 F-35 stealth fighters in addition to dozens of armoured vehicles. The ship’s well deck, which can be flooded to provide direct access to the sea, allows it to launch and recover landing craft and other amphibious vehicles. The US has also claimed that they can take people on here [Makin Island] and put them on the ground to seize an area if we had to.

The US is setting up to push South Korea into combat with North Korea – the intransigent supporter of Russia in all the US interventions.

After a dozen wrong propagandas, it seems that the Korean Peninsula will be the next victim of war. The US, with the support of Japan, Australia and some NATO countries, is setting up to push South Korea into combat with North Korea – the intransigent supporter of Russia in all the US interventions. Compared to China, North Korea seems to be more impulsive and reactive. So, it may be a little easy target to be trapped in for an outburst in the Korean Peninsula. In fact, not so easy.

For a while, the US and some of the NATO nations are viciously building up another malafide propaganda-based narrative to get their allies on board in the Korean Peninsula and the Indo-Pacific region. The US is assembling its military might on both sides. The recent South Korea-US drills will be followed by live-firing drills in June 2023. Fears of another war are surrounding the region that may hit the Taiwan Strait engaging South Korea, Japan and Australia against North Korea. It may indulge China as well. It would not be strange for most of the experts and stakeholders in the two regions, the Korean Peninsula and the Indo-Pacific region, if they face the same fate as Iraq met 20 years back. The unwarranted US propaganda destroyed not only one country but the region. A similar case is being briskly built up now in the Korean Peninsula. It is likely to offend North Korea more easily. It has already shown its severe concerns.

“The US and South Korea have put the situation in the Korean Peninsula on an extremely dangerous level through threatening rhetoric and military demonstration against the DPRK [North Korea],” Kim Son Gyong, vice minister for international organizations of the North’s Foreign Ministry, said in a statement published by the state mouthpiece Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

It won’t be out of context if the US-South Korea aggressive military drills are termed an offensive against North Korea. A brunt of its support to Russia was more likely to come. North Korea is one of the Asian countries supporting Russia in its confrontation with Ukraine. And, the number of Russian supporters is increasing. Not only the countries but the citizens of the NATO nations too for what they suffered from the war. The increasing opinion in the NATO countries is that they are bearing the brunt of the US misadventures.

The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, deputy head of the department of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, Kim Ye-jong, said that her country would always side with Russia. She said the DPRK would remain “in the same trench as Russia, its army and its people”.

The historical ties between Moscow and Pyongyang allow the Kremlin to draw on the strong support of the North Korean people at a time when Russia needs it most. Sanction pressure from the global community has indeed “put” the two countries in the same trench. However, the fact that the DPRK has nuclear weapons makes this alliance highly credible in the face of threats emanating from the collective West. Given the strategic partnership between Russia and China, as well as the neutrally balanced position of Pakistan and India on the Ukrainian crisis, the US, together with the UK, France and Israel, may be left in the minority in the nuclear club. However, it should be kept in mind that New Delhi and Islamabad are strengthening close economic ties with China and are also members of the SCO [Shanghai Cooperation Organization], where Moscow and Beijing have traditionally played a key role. It is also worth mentioning Iran, another Russian ally that is unlikely to give up its nuclear programme.

The writer is a freelance journalist and broadcaster, and Director Devcom-Pakistan. He can be reached at devcom.pakistan@gmail.com and tweet@EmmayeSyed