STORY: S. Koreans stage candlelight vigil against joint military drill with U.S.
DATELINE: Aug. 19, 2023
LENGTH: 00:01:44
LOCATION: Seoul
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the candlelight vigil
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Korean): HWANG NAM-SUN, Peace activist

STORYLINE:

A group of South Korean peace activists and ordinary people staged a candlelight vigil in central Seoul on Friday to express their stern opposition to an upcoming joint military exercise with the United States.

Holding a candle in one hand, each participant shouted slogans of "Stop war exercise," and "Stop hostilities and go to peace now."

Against the backdrop of placards that read "Stop South Korea-U.S.-Japan military cooperation and South Korea-U.S. joint military exercise that cause a war crisis," the peace activists called for peace on the Korean Peninsula.

"It's a war crisis once again," said Jung Jong-sung, a civic activist who participated in the rally organized by the Korea Peace Appeal which is composed of hundreds of civic and religious groups in South Korea, as well as dozens of overseas anti-war groups.

Jung urged the South Korean government to eliminate all possible factors triggering war or armed conflict, stressing that all hostile acts, which can bring about military tension and conflict, should be stopped immediately.

The Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise between South Korea and the United States, or a summer joint military exercise involving large-scale field maneuvers, was slated to be held on Aug. 21-31, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The annual military drill will reportedly involve about 30 field maneuvers, compared to 13 conducted last year.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Korean): HWANG NAM-SUN, Peace activist
"As always, it will be a military exercise considering the deployment of the strongest-ever weapons, including nuclear ones.
So, I came here to prevent the escalation of military crisis on the Korean Peninsula which is already in a bad situation.
The South Korea-U.S. military exercise is a war exercise for sure.
It's raising the crisis of war and the fear of war among citizens more and more.
Japan has never apologized for its past militarism and we experienced the invasion by Japan.
It will be absolutely unacceptable for Japan's military to enter the Korean Peninsula in the name of collective self-defense or by signing a security treaty to protect each other."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Seoul.
(XHTV)