both the Yoon and Biden administrations are recovering from decisions made in the last administration to reduce training, as well as the effects of COVID,” Maxwell said.
But the U.S.-ROK military actions did not stop South Korean press from questioning U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and South Korean Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-sup on the “effectiveness” of U.S. and South Korean deterrence measures last week, to which Austin replied that he believed North Korea was deterred from attacking South Korea and also from deploying a nuclear device.
According to Maxwell, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s recent missile launches are an effort to “drive a wedge in the ROK-U.S. alliance” to create dissension among politicians.
“He (Un) is trying to weaken military readiness. He is appealing to those naive pundits who think that if we just cancel exercises that he will come to the negotiating table and act like a responsible member of the international community. Nothing could be more wrong,” Maxwell said.
Source: Voice of America