North Korea on Thursday threatened to cancel a reunion later this month of Korean War-divided families because of upcoming US-South Korean military drills, causing frustration in Seoul only one day after the rivals agreed on dates for the emotional meetings.
The apparent about-face fits a pattern analysts say North Korea often follows of agreeing to things Seoul covets and then pulling back until Pyongyang gets what it wants, in this case a ratcheting down of the massive military drills by Seoul and Washington that are seen as a huge drain on impoverished North Korea's military.
The rival Koreas decided yesterday to restart the family reunions, which haven't been held since 2010, from February 20-25. Before the agreement, many in Seoul were skeptical that Pyongyang would allow the reunions anytime soon because of its anger over the annual springtime military drills that are also scheduled later this month. Pyongyang calls the drills preparation for war, while the allies say the exercises are purely defensive.
North Korea has a history of launching provocations and scrapping cooperation accords with South Korea to protest the allies' springtime drills. The country used last year's drills as a pretext for churning out near-daily threats, including vows of nuclear war against Seoul and Washington. It also canceled planned family reunions last September after accusing Seoul of preparing for war drills and other hostile acts.