US, North Korea bolster trust

The anti-U.S. propaganda banner in Pyongyang, June 21, reads, "If the U.S. imperialists try to invade our country, let's sweep them off the face of the Earth." North Korea appears to have tried to erase the word, "U.S. imperialists" amid the reconciliatory mood between the countries. / AP-Yonhap

By Yi Whan-woo

North Korea and the United States are refraining from blaming each other as part of efforts to build trust and speed up reconciliation in the wake of the summit between their leaders in Singapore on June 12.

The scene is different from last year when U.S. Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un exchanged a war of words and threatened to attack each other's country.

South Korea also has been remaining low key in marking the anniversaries of the outbreak of the Korean War on June 25, 1953, and the Second Battle of Yeonpyeong on June 29, 2002.

Six South Korean sailors died and 19 were wounded during a battle on the disputed maritime border in the West Sea, following the previous battle in 1999.

On June 25, no North Korean media outlet carried any statement denouncing the U.S. as they normally would have done.

They instead asked the U.S. to make efforts to build trust in line with a Singapore summit between Trump and Kim Jong-un for Pyongyang's denuclearization and permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula.

In their commentaries, the state-controlled media also repeatedly stressed the need to implement a joint declaration announced by Trump and Kim.

Propaganda website Meari (meaning echo) said the North would take additional reciprocal steps if the U.S. takes sincere measures to build trust and improve bilateral relations.

"The North-U.S. summit was a historical breakthrough, as it terminated hostilities between the two countries and paved the ground for new bilateral relations," Meari said in a commentary. "Both parties should make faithful efforts to implement their joint declaration."

Uriminzokkiri, also a propaganda website, urged the U.S. to take genuine trust-building measures, saying it was Pyongyang's "steadfast" determination to open a new future for the sake of world peace and safety.

Other propaganda media, such as DPRK Today and the weekly Tongil Sinbo, asked the U.S. to carry out thoroughly the Singapore declaration and build trust.

Analysts said Pyongyang's state-controlled media outlets appears to stress building trust as a precondition in order to dispel decades-old hostility and make progress toward denuclearization.

The North has denounced the joint exercises between the U.S. and South Korea as a "rehearsal for invasion."

And the U.S. and South Korea have agreed to suspend Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG), a major joint military exercise scheduled for August. The measures follow Trump's pledge after his summit with Kim to end "war games."

"South Korea and the U.S. have agreed to suspend all planning activities regarding the military drill scheduled for August," Seoul's Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

The U.S. Department of Defense confirmed the suspension and said no decisions on subsequent joint drills had been made.

The two allies last called off joint exercises in 1992 when the North announced its intention to sign a nuclear safeguards accord and accept international inspections.

In 2017, 17,500 American and more than 50,000 South Korean troops participated in the UFG.

The U.S.-South Korean exercise calendar hits a high point this year with the Foal Eagle and Max Thunder drills. The North reacted sensitively, especially toward Max Thunder, an air exercise that brought the U.S. B-52 strategic bombers feared by the Kim regime.

President Moon Jae-in did not join the official ceremony in Seoul for the 68th anniversary of the Korean War, and designated Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon to address the public.

He reaffirmed the Moon administration's commitment to denuclearizing the peninsula and establish peace.

"I believe peace and prosperity are the best reward to those from the country and other nations who fought in the war," the prime minister said. "The government will go straight toward the establishment of peace and joint prosperity on the Korean Peninsula with faith and patience despite any obstacles."

Lee said the country would honor all, including foreign soldiers, who made the ultimate sacrifice while fighting in defense of South Korea.

"Sixty-eight years ago today, the Korean Peninsula was engulfed in the terrible disaster of a war prompted by North Korea's southward invasion," Lee said.

"Soldiers from not only South Korea and North Korea but 16 other countries, including the U.S., fought the war while Chinese soldiers also jumped in.

"Women also fought at the frontline and in the rear. Numerous students picked up weapons instead of books, while young overseas Koreans came to save their nation."

The prime minister stressed that the government would work to honor surviving war veterans as well.

"The government is doing its utmost to honor those who fought in the war," he said.

"The government will continue to identify and honor war veterans who are still alive.

"It will also step up its efforts, through close cooperation with North Korea, to find the remains of those killed in the war."

Rival parties in South Korea showed mixed views about how to achieve peace amid the reconciliatory mood in the region.

The ruling Democratic Party highlighted the need to resolve the most pressing humanitarian issue of war-separated families by instituting regular reunions across the border.

"The issue of separated families warrants priority for resolution as a basic human rights matter," it said. "Now is the time to muster support for holding family reunions regularly, apart from the current one-off events."

The main opposition Liberty Korea Party called for extra caution, even though North Korea's back-to-back summits with the South and the U.S. had helped set the stage for peace.

Kim met Moon twice between April and May before meeting Trump.

"North Korea has yet to take steps for complete denuclearization," the party said. "But Seoul and Washington have already decided to suspend their joint military drills and the South's military is putting its exercises off, raising public concern."

The minor opposition Bareunmirae Party called for the government to play an active role in bringing home South Korean detainees in North Korea and to push for regular reunions of war-separated families.

Meanwhile, the U.S. held its own ceremony marking the outbreak of the inter-Korean conflict at the Korean War Veterans Memorial Washington, D.C, drawing more than 200 people.

"We are heartened that the talks have finally begun towards the normalization of relations ... in Korea, the countries of the North and South, and the denuclearization of the peninsula and the ultimate end of the United States' longest war," said War Veterans Association President Paul Cunningham.

"But of equal importance, we are looking to the recovery of the remains of the 7,700 servicemen still unaccounted for."