S.Korea, US militaries will stage large-scale drills this month to address N.Korean threats
Ulchi Freedom Shield, the second of two large-scale exercises held annually in South Korea, following another set of drills in March, typically involves thousands of troops in computer-simulated command post training and combined field exercises. The Aug. 18-28 exercise may trigger an angry reaction from North Korea, which calls the joint drills invasion rehearsals and often uses them as a pretext to dial up military demonstrations and weapons tests aimed at advancing its nuclear program.
Doubling down on its nuclear ambitions, North Korea has repeatedly rejected Washington and Seoul's calls to resume diplomacy aimed at winding down its weapons program, which derailed in 2019. The North has now made Russia the priority of its foreign policy, sending thousands of troops and large amounts of military equipment to support Moscow's war in Ukraine.
About 18,000 South Korean troops will take part in this year's Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson, Col. Lee Sung Joon, said during a joint briefing with US Forces Korea, which did not disclose the number of participating US troops. Both Lee and S Forces Korea public affairs director Col. Ryan Donald downplayed speculation that South Korea's new liberal government, led by President Lee Jae Myung, sought to downsize the exercise to create momentum for dialogue with Pyongyang, saying its scale is similar to previous years. However, Col. Lee said about half of the exercise's originally planned 40 field training programs were postponed to September due to heat concerns.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Kuwait Times
a day ago
- Kuwait Times
Trump may look like he's winning the trade war, but hurdles remain
Higher tariffs on trading partners could inflict economic harm on Americans: Economists WASHINGTON: At a glance, US President Donald Trump appears to be winning the trade war he unleashed after returning to the White House in January, bending major trading partners to his will, imposing double-digit tariff rates on nearly all imports, narrowing the trade deficit, and raking in tens of billions of dollars a month in much-needed cash for federal government coffers. Significant hurdles remain, however, including whether US trading partners will make good on investment and goods-purchase commitments, how much tariffs will drive up inflation or stymie demand and growth, and whether the courts allow many of his ad-hoc levies to stand. On inauguration day, the effective US tariff rate was about 2.5 percent. It has since jumped to somewhere between 17 percent and 19 percent, according to a range of estimates. The Atlantic Council estimates it will edge closer to 20 percent, the highest in a century, with higher duties taking effect on Thursday. Trading partners have largely refrained from retaliatory tariffs, sparing the global economy from a more painful tit-for-tat trade war. Data on Tuesday showed a 16 percent narrowing of the US trade deficit in June, while the US trade gap with China shrank to its smallest in more than 21 years. American consumers have shown themselves to be more resilient than expected, but some recent data indicate the tariffs are already affecting jobs, growth and inflation. 'The question is, what does winning mean?' said Josh Lipsky, who heads economic studies at the Atlantic Council. 'He's raising tariffs on the rest of the world and avoiding a retaliatory trade war far easier than even he anticipated, but the bigger question is what effect does that have on the US economy.' Michael Strain, head of economic policy studies at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said Trump's geopolitical victories could prove hollow. 'In a geopolitical sense, Trump's obviously getting tons of concessions from other countries, but in an economic sense, he's not winning the trade war,' he said. 'What we're seeing is that he is more willing to inflict economic harm on Americans than other countries are willing to inflict on their nations. And I think of that as losing.' Kelly Ann Shaw, a White House trade adviser during Trump's first term who is now a partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, said a still-strong economy and near-record-high stock prices 'support a more aggressive tariff strategy.' But Trump's tariffs, tax cuts, deregulation and policies to boost energy production would take time to play out. 'I think history will judge these policies, but he is the first president in my lifetime to make major changes to the global trading system,' she added. Trump has concluded eight framework agreements with the European Union, Japan, Britain, South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, Pakistan and the Philippines that impose tariffs on their goods ranging from 10 percent to 20 percent. That's well short of the '90 deals in 90 days' administration officials had touted in April, but they account for some 40 percent of US trade flows. Adding in China, currently saddled with a 30 percent levy on its goods but likely to win another reprieve from even higher tariffs before an August 12 deadline, would raise that to nearly 54 percent. Deals aside, many of Trump's tariff actions have been mercurial. On Wednesday he ratcheted up pressure on India, doubling new tariffs on goods from there to 50 percent from 25 percent because of its imports of oil from Russia. The same rate is in store for goods from Brazil, after Trump complained about its prosecution of former leader Jair Bolsonaro, a Trump ally. And Switzerland, which Trump had previously praised, is facing 39 percent tariffs after a conversation between its leader and Trump derailed a deal. Ryan Majerus, a trade lawyer who worked in both the first Trump administration and the Biden government, said what's been announced so far fails to address 'longstanding, politically entrenched trade issues' that have bothered US policymakers for decades, and getting there would likely take 'months, if not years.' He also noted they lack specific enforcement mechanisms for the big investments announced, including $550 billion for Japan and $600 billion for the EU. Promises and risks Critics lit into European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen after she agreed to a 15 percent tariff during a surprise meeting with Trump during his trip to Scotland last month, while gaining little in return. The deal frustrated winemakers and farmers, who had sought a zero-for-zero tariff. Francois-Xavier Huard, head of France's FNIL national dairy sector federation, said 15 percent was better than the threatened 30 percent, but would still cost dairy farmers millions of euros. European experts say von der Leyen's move did avert higher tariffs, calmed tensions with Trump, averting potentially higher duties on semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and cars, while making largely symbolic pledges to buy $750 billion of US strategic goods and invest over $600 billion. Meeting those pledges will fall to individual EU members and companies, and cannot be mandated by Brussels, trade experts and analysts note. US officials insist Trump can re-impose higher tariffs if he believes the EU, Japan or others are not honoring their commitments. But it remains unclear how that would be policed. And history offers a caution. China, with its state-run economy, never met its modest purchase agreements under Trump's Phase 1 US-China trade deal. Holding it to account proved difficult for the subsequent Biden administration. 'All of it is untested. The EU, Japan and South Korea are going to have to figure out how to operationalize this,' Shaw said. 'It's not just government purchases. It's getting the private sector motivated to either make investments or back loans, or to purchase certain commodities.' And lastly, the main premise for the tariffs Trump has imposed unilaterally faces legal challenges. His legal team met with stiff questioning during appellate court oral arguments over his novel use of the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act, historically used for sanctioning enemies or freezing their assets, to justify his tariffs. A ruling could come any time and regardless of the outcome seems destined to be settled ultimately by the Supreme Court. — Reuters
Kuwait Times
a day ago
- Kuwait Times
No compromise on farmers' interests: Modi
NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday he will not compromise the interests of the country's farmers even if he has to pay a heavy price, in his first comments after US President Donald Trump's salvo of a 50 percent tariff on Indian goods. 'For us, our farmers' welfare is supreme,' Modi said at an event in New Delhi. 'India will never compromise on the wellbeing of its farmers, dairy (sector) and fishermen. And I know personally I will have to pay a heavy price for it,' he said. Trump announced an additional 25 percent tariff on Indian goods on Wednesday, raising the total duty to 50 percent — among the highest imposed on any US trading partner. The new tariff, effective August 28, is meant to penalize India for continuing to buy Russian oil, Trump has said. While Modi did not explicitly mention the US or the collapsed trade talks, his comments marked a clear defense of India's position. Trade talks between India and the United States broke down after five rounds of negotiations over disagreement on opening India's vast farm and dairy sectors and stopping Russian oil purchases. India's foreign ministry has called the US decision 'extremely unfortunate' and said it would 'take all necessary steps to protect its national interests.' The US has yet to impose similar tariffs for China, the biggest buyer of Russian oil. Experts say China's dominance in rare earth minerals — critical to high-tech industries — gives it leverage that India currently lacks. 'The US tariff hike lacks logic,' Dammu Ravi, secretary of economic relations in India's foreign ministry, told reporters. 'This is a temporary aberration, a temporary problem that the country will face, but in course of time, we are confident that the world will find solutions.' India is already signaling it may seek to rebalance its global partnerships. Modi is preparing for his first visit to China in over seven years, suggesting a potential diplomatic realignment amid growing tensions with Washington. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Wednesday he would initiate a conversation among the BRICS group of developing nations about how to tackle Trump's tariffs. He said he planned to call Modi and China's Xi Jinping. The BRICS group also includes Russia and South Africa. India's Ravi added that 'like-minded countries will look for cooperation and economic engagement that will be mutually beneficial to all sides.' Both supporters of Modi and the opposition Congress party have called on him to respond firmly to the US tariffs, urging action 'with self-respect and dignity.' 'India's national interest is supreme. Any nation that arbitrarily penalizes India for its time-tested policy of strategic autonomy, rooted in the ideology of non-alignment, does not understand the steel frame India is made of,' Congress party president Mallikarjun Kharge said. Indian industry, already struggling with global headwinds, has expressed alarm. Sudhir Sekhri, chairman of the Apparel Export Promotion Council, said: 'There is no way the industry can absorb such a steep hike'. He demanded fiscal support from the government. Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries in its annual report said continuing geopolitical and tariff-related uncertainties may affect trade flows and demand-supply balance. India's equity market, which has been weakening due to tariff risks and muted earnings growth slipped another 0.5 percent on Thursday to three-month lows. The reaction was muted as investors bet on the tariffs being negotiated down. — Reuters
Kuwait Times
a day ago
- Kuwait Times
Russia and India talk up ‘strategic partnership' after Trump tariff hike
Moscow, New Delhi hope to build a new 'world order' • Putin to visit India this year MOSCOW/NEW DELHI: Russia and India stressed their commitment to a 'strategic partnership' in bilateral security talks in Moscow on Thursday, a day after US President Donald Trump announced higher tariffs on imports from India because of its purchases of Russian oil. Interfax news agency quoted Indian national security adviser Ajit Doval as saying that New Delhi was looking forward to a visit from President Vladimir Putin by the end of the year. At Doval's meeting with Sergei Shoigu, secretary of Russia's Security Council, both sides emphasized the importance of the countries' relations. Trump's imposition of an additional 25 percent tariff on goods from India, coming into force on August 28, signals the most serious downturn in US-India relations since his return to office in January, threatening to disrupt India's access to its largest export market. KAZAN: Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (left) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) on the sidelines of the BRICS summit on Oct 22, 2024. - AFP photos 'We are committed to further active cooperation in order to form a new, more just and sustainable world order, ensure the supremacy of international law, and jointly combat modern challenges and threats,' Shoigu told Doval in televised comments. Interfax quoted Doval as saying: 'We have now established very good relations, which we value very much, a strategic partnership between our countries'. India and China have become the top buyers of Russian seaborne crude oil since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, precipitating Western efforts to choke the Russian economy. Trump had threatened measures against countries buying Russian oil before he announced the new tariff on Indian goods, which raised the total duty to 50 percent. On Tuesday, the Kremlin accused the United States of exerting illegal trade pressure on New Delhi, saying India has the right to trade with whomever it chooses. India's state refiners have stopped Russian oil purchases as the discounts narrowed and Trump warned countries not to buy Moscow's oil, industry sources said. Private refiners Reliance Industries and Nayara are Russia's top oil clients in India, trade data shows. An Indian official familiar with the matter said Doval would discuss India's purchases of Russian crude during his visit to Moscow. He was also expected to discuss India's defense collaboration with Russia, the official said. India signed a $5.5 billion deal with Russia in 2018 for five S-400 Triumf long-range surface-to-air missile systems, which New Delhi says it needs to counter a threat from China. But deliveries of the systems have been delayed several times. Moscow is expected to deliver units of the final two S-400 systems to India in 2026 and 2027. New Delhi has traditionally relied heavily on arms imports from Russia, although it has dramatically reduced those imports and shifted to Western buyers in recent years. — Reuters
