President Lee Myung-bak visited Wednesday the control room for the ongoing Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG) military exercises between South Korea and the United States.

While there, Lee was briefed on the status of the drills, and he held a video conference with military leaders at the site.

Lee stressed that the UFG drills are meant to serve as a deterrent to war and to maintain peace on the Korean Peninsula. He said that South Korea-U.S. cooperation will serve as a stepping stone to those ends.

He asked the military to always be on alert and prepared.

Lee added that military leaders of a divided nation must maintain a different posture than those of nations that are not.

He called on the leaders of the military and of society to do their utmost to put the public at ease.