What N Korea’s Massive Artillery Drills Really Say About Pyongyang’s Intentions
SputnikNews.com
25.04.2017
North Korea has carried out massive artillery drills, possibly the largest in the country’s history, to mark the 85th anniversary of the founding of the country’s Army. Speaking to Sputnik, Chinese and Russian experts explained why the exercises may actually be a sign that Pyongyang is seeking some kind of compromise with the US and its allies.
The North Korean military staged massive long-range artillery drills in the country’s east near the city of Wonsan on Tuesday, marking the 85th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People’s Army.
South Korean officials told the Yonghap News Agency that the live-fire drills were closely monitored by the South Korean military. One report said that between 300-400 artillery pieces were used in the exercises. Sources also indicated there was a strong likelihood that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended the drills.
The exercises coincided with the military exercises being held by the US and South Korea off the western coast of the Korean Peninsula. Against the background of a tense security situation, the US has sent the USS Carl Vinson supercarrier to the region, with a nuclear-powered submarine also set to join the carrier group off the waters of the peninsula in the coming days.
About 28,000 US troops are permanently stationed in South Korea, and Washington has repeatedly rejected signing a formal peace treaty with Pyongyang. Legally, the US and North Korea are still at war, with hostilities held at bay by an armistice signed in 1953, the year the Korean War officially came to an end.
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