S. Korea, U.S. to hold combined exercise next month under scenario of N. Korea using nuclear weapons

한미, 北핵공격 가정 확장억제연습 내달 실시 정찰위성 첫 발사 Staying with national defense and foreign policy briefings. South Korea's Defense Ministry unveiled today its plan with timeline to hold more combined exercises with the U.S. to counter nuclear threats from North Korea. As for the Foreign Ministry, it vows to keep its current stance on China, after Beijing stops issuing short-term visas to Koreans. Bae Eun-ji reports. South Korea and the U.S. plan to carry out their combined military exercise next month, under the scenario of North Korea using its nuclear weapons. Then in May, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff will be holding a separate tabletop exercise with the U.S. military. The defense minister announced this in a briefing on Wednesday, following the ministry's report to President Yoon Suk-yeol on major policy tasks for this year. The allies will also be holding an 11-day combined drill in the first half of this year, making it the longest joint drill between the two countries conducted without a break. Highlighting the importance of strengthening the military's capability to counter North Korea's missile threats, the defense minister also said South Korea plans to launch its first military reconnaissance satellite this year. "To significantly increase the capability of the country's intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance assets we will be launching our first military reconnaissance satellite this year. So, our military will be independently operating its very own spy satellite." The Foreign Ministry also reported to President Yoon on its tasks for this year on Wednesday, where it vowed to work with partners to achieve peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region. President Yoon was also briefed on China's suspension of short-term visa issuance for South Koreans after Seoul strengthened COVID-19 measures for those entering from China. Yoon ordered the Foreign Ministry to thoroughly explain Seoul's stance to Beijing, as those stricter measures are based on scientific and objective reasoning to protect South Korean citizens. "We don't want these measures to negatively impact our diplomatic relations with China. So our stance remains that these quarantine measures that we've taken are based on scientific and objective reasoning." On North Korea, the foreign minister said it aims to continue to work toward denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, with the international community based on the Yoon administration's "audacious initiative" approach towards Pyongyang. Bae Eun-ji, Arirang News. #SouthKorea #UnitedStates #Arirang_News 📣 Facebook :   / arirangtvnews   📣 Twitter :   / arirangtvnews   📣 Homepage : https://v2.arirang.com/ 2023-01-11, 21:00 (KST)