N. Korea slams planned US-S. Korea army exercise

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
North Korea delivered a demand to the US military Friday that it call off war maneuvers with South Korea scheduled at the same time as the second-ever summit between the rival Koreas later this month. During a meeting held at the North's request at the truce village of Panmunjom, North Korean officers read a statement to U.S. soldiers saying the exercises would have a "catastrophic impact" on ongoing six-nation negotiations on North Korea's nuclear disarmament. North Korea also issued a vaguely worded threat, carried by the country's official Korean Central News Agency, against the "large-scale war maneuvers." Such threats by North Korea are common, and the country regularly criticizes the annual Ulchi Focus Lens military exercises, held since 1975. The drills are to involve about 10,000 US troops stationed in South Korea and abroad, according to the US military.