South Korea to Refrain from Media Coverage of Joint War Games with U.S.: Seoul

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SEOUL, June 4 (Xinhua) -- South Korean military planned to refrain from media coverage of the upcoming joint war games with the United States though it will conduct joint annual drills as scheduled, Seoul's defense ministry said Monday.

Lee Jin-woo, deputy spokesman of the Ministry of National Defense, told a press briefing that the joint annual war games between Seoul and Washington will be conducted according to annual plans.

Lee, however, noted that the military will make best efforts to refrain from publicizing or making open the upcoming drills.

The comments came after South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo and his U.S. counterpart James Mattis held talks Saturday on the sidelines of the Asia Security Summit in Singapore, also known as Shangri-La Dialogue.

Song and Mattis reportedly agreed to keep the future joint military exercises "low-key."

Asked about whether to scale down or cancel the upcoming Ulchi Freedom Guardian slated for August, the deputy spokesman of the Seoul ministry said no discussion nor review has been made.

The Ulchi Freedom Guardian refers to an annually-held South Korea-U.S. computerized command post military drills, which the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has denounced as a rehearsal for northward invasion.

The DPRK's official daily Minju Joson slammed the South Korean military Sunday for running counter to the spirit of the Panmunjom Declaration by joining the Ulchi Freedom Guardian and the Rim of Pacific (RIMPAC) joint military exercises with the United States.

According to the DPRK media, the South Korean military dispatched three warships, fighter jets and a 700-strong force to the RIMPAC joint drills to be held in the waters off Hawaii from June 27.

The Panmunjom Declaration was signed by South Korean President Moon Jae-in and top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un after their first summit meeting on April 27, promising to refrain from military confrontation and seek peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Moon and Kim met again on May 26 to confirm their commitments to the Panmunjom Declaration.