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S. Korea, US to hold military drills

TOKYO, Aug 18 (KUNA) -- South Korea's military said Friday that Seoul and Washington would stage joint military drills next week at a similar level to those last year, Yonhap News Agency reported.
The allies' Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise will kick off Monday for a two-week run, which North Korea has long denounced as a war rehearsal for a northern invasion.
"This year's military drills will be a similar size to those conducted last year," an official at the Joint Chiefs of Staff was quoted as saying at a press briefing in Seoul, defying speculation that they allies may scale them down not to irk North Korea. The drill is a computerized command post exercise without field maneuvers.
Tensions between the North and the US had heightened amid exchanges of bellicose rhetoric between US President Donald Trump and the North Korean leadership. Pyongyang had threatened to fire four ballistic missiles toward the waters off the US territory of Guam, but it backed off its threat Tuesday after key US officials dismissed the risk of an imminent war with the North.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said Tuesday that he will watch Washington's behavior "a little more," but he will make an "important" decision if the US continues its "extremely dangerous reckless actions" on the divided peninsula. Kim's remark seemed to refer to the planned military drills between Seoul and Washington, the report added. (end) mk.gta