The US military has proposed holding a major troop-landing exercise involving more than 10,000 US and South Korean marines in November, a report said yesterday.
It was put forward by General Walter Sharp, who commands 28,500 US troops in South Korea, to demonstrate joint military capability in the face of communist North Korea, Yonhap news agency said.
However, Seoul is lukewarm as it believes a large-scale drill could further chill relations with the reclusive regime in Pyongyang, which have worsened since South Korean President Lee Myung-bak took power in February, the report said.
US and South Korean military officials refused to confirm the report.
A South Korean defense ministry spokesman said both sides have yet to set a date for an exercise.
Yonhap said Sharp made the proposal during a visit in July to South Korea’s marines command and had already ordered the temporary redeployment of a Marine unit from Japan for the exercise.
“General Sharp said the countries needed to demonstrate to North Korea that their combined forces are well capable of conducting such a large-scale amphibious operation,” a military source was quoted by Yonhap as saying.
Meanwhile, North Korea’s Kim Jong-il urged his people to work hard to reap a bountiful harvest, Pyongyang’s main newspaper said yesterday, though the ailing leader remained out of sight on one of Korea’s biggest holidays.
Kim traditionally makes an appearance around Thanksgiving, which fell this year on Sunday and continued into yesterday. However, he has not been seen in public in weeks, and his failure to show up for North Korea’s key 60th anniversary celebrations last week spurred speculation that he is seriously ill.
South Korean officials say Kim, 66, is recovering from a stroke.
Kim, who is believed to have diabetes and heart disease, reportedly underwent brain surgery last month but still suffers from sporadic convulsions.
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