South Korea's peace activists on Monday cried out for a total stop of the annual South Korea-U.S. military exercise involving large-scale field maneuvers, saying the war rehearsal escalates tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
Activists with the Solidarity for Peace and Reunification of Korea (SPARK) held a protest rally in front of the presidential office in central Seoul, where the defense ministry is also headquartered.
The SPARK, a South Korean civic group, demanded a total and immediate stop of the South Korea-U.S. war rehearsal that it said is aggressive in nature.
It noted that the more aggressive the South Korea-U.S. military exercise becomes, the more distant the Korean Peninsula will be from peace and denuclearization.
Produced by Xinhua Global Service