South Korea, US to skip massive wintertime joint air exercise

Two F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jets from the U.S. Air Force fly through the sky near the Republic of Korea Air Force 1st Fighter Wing's base in Gwangju, in this Dec. 2, 2017 photo, in preparation for the South Korea-U.S. joint Vigilant Ace air exercise that was carried out from Dec. 4 to 8 that year. Yonhap

By Jung Da-min

South Korea and the United States are expected to suspend their massive wintertime joint Air Force exercise, Vigilant Ace, usually held in December, for the second year in a row to support diplomacy for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, sources said Sunday.

Instead of the combined exercise, the South Korean and U.S. militaries will stage separate air drills.

“South Korea and the United States are closely coordinating the details of each exercise to ensure combined military readiness,” an official with the Republic of Korea Air Force said, adding details of such drills were not open to the public.

Last year, the two air forces skipped Vigilant Ace after discussing the matter at the 50th Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) in Washington D.C. in late October. The SCM is an annual ministerial dialogue held alternately in Washington and Seoul.

The official cancellation of this year's Vigilant Ace is likely to be announced after the 51st SCM to be held here Nov. 15.

Launched in 2015 under the name “Pen-ORE (Peninsula Operational Readiness Exercise),” the annual joint air exercise was held until 2017 mobilizing large numbers of aircraft from the two air forces.

The 2017 exercise saw about 270 aircraft, including six F-22 and six F-35A and F-35B stealth fighters as well as a B-1B Lancer bomber from the U.S. Air Force deployed to the peninsula. This followed North Korea's nuclear and missile tests during that year, including two test-launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles in July and one in November.

North Korea has strongly criticized the joint air exercise. The North has also criticized the South for introducing the U.S. F-35A stealth jets to its own Air Force. Starting March this year, eight F-35As have so far arrived in South Korea while five more are set to be delivered before the end of the year. The South is expecting 13 more F-35As in 2020 and 14 in 2021, according to the Air Force's report to the National Assembly in October during an annual audit.

Since the atmosphere of peace that developed between the two Koreas starting early 2018, the South Korean and U.S. militaries have suspended large-scale joint exercises including the springtime Key Resolve and Foal Eagle and the summertime Ulchi Freedom Guardian, replacing them with downsized drills.

But the North continued to criticize South Korea and the U.S. for their “provocative” military drills. Starting May this year, the North has conducted 12 tests of short-range ballistic missiles, large-caliber multiple launch guided rocket systems, surface-to-surface missiles, a super-large multiple rocket launcher and a submarine launched ballistic missile.

The North has called for the U.S. to make “wise” decisions before a year-end deadline, after the two countries failed to reach an agreement on the North's nuclear disarmament at working-level talks in Stockholm early October.