By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
The combined forces of South Korea and the United States will hold their first joint exercise next month to test Seoul's war-waging capabilities after it regains wartime operational control of South Korean troops from the United States in 2012, officials of the Combined Forces Command (CFC) said Sunday.
The drill, dubbed ``Key Resolve,'' replaces the annual joint exercise, Reception, Staging, Onward Movement and Integration (RSOI), they said. It will be held from March 2 through 7.
The CFC informed North Korea through the United Nations Command that the upcoming exercise was ``a defensive military readiness exercise.'' the officials said.