President Lee Jae-ming of Korea: Need to prepare for worst-case scenarios

South Korea's President Lee Jae-ming has stated that maintaining national peace is "most important", but that South Korea must be prepared for "worst case". This statement was made after the United States President Trump ordered a reduction in joint military exercises with Seoul. Li stated that the annual exercise called the Ulchi Shield of Freedom was defensive and not aimed at attacking North Korea or exacerbating tensions on the peninsula. This joint military exercise, scheduled to continue until 27 August at the beginning of the week, involved some 18,000 Korean soldiers. Li mentioned also that the DPRK has long condemned these joint exercises as a rehearsal for the invasion of the North。