▲ This image taken Jan. 11, 2026, from the South Korean border city of Paju, shows the South Korean national flag, Taegeukgi (R), at a South Korean border town, along with the North Korean national flag at a North Korean border town. (Yonhap)

progressive groups-joint drills

Progressive civic groups, lawmakers call for suspension of S. Korea-U.S. military drills

SEOUL, Jan. 20 (Yonhap) -- Progressive civic groups, lawmakers and religious leaders on Tuesday called for the suspension of regular joint military exercises between Seoul and Washington to improve ties with Pyongyang.

A coalition of 357 progressive civic and religious groups as well as 13 lawmakers, including Rep. Lee In-young of the ruling Democratic Party, made the call at a press conference in Seoul, as inter-Korean relations have long remained stalled despite Seoul's efforts to repair the ties.

More than 200 individuals also joined the coalition.

They urged the government to "suspend joint South Korea-U.S. military exercises and halt hostilities near the inter-Korean border to improve ties with North Korea and open a path to peace."

The participants also said the government should rein in and halt firing drills or drone flights that compromise the Military Demarcation Line by redefining buffer zones in the air, at sea and on land, in the spirit of the now-suspended 2018 inter-Korean tensions reduction pact.

They also called on the government to renounce a North Korea policy that prioritizes military pressure in favor of one focused on normalizing relations and respecting each other's system.

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