End of Foal Eagle raises hope of reconciliation

By Kim Tae-gyu

With the conclusion of the two-month South Korea-United States joint military drill of Foal Eagle Tuesday, experts expect escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula to ease.

The largest annual joint exercise between the two allies attracted much attention as state-of-the-art military hardware, including F-22 Raptors, B-2 stealth bombers and B-52s, was deployed.

Chang Yong-seok, a researcher at the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies affiliated with Seoul National University, presented an optimistic view.

“If history is any indication, the North will declare a triumph soon against the U.S. and South Korea in its struggle against the two countries earlier this year, as Foal Eagle wrapped up,” Chang said.

“Then, Pyongyang has cause to make reconciliatory offers because it is the victor. I expect the termination of Foal Eagle will offer momentum for the peaceful resolution of the ongoing crisis.”

South Korea and the U.S. say the bilateral war game is a defensive operation but North Korea maintains it is a prelude to a northward invasion.

“The communist regime expressed great resentment with the show of force on its doorstep. Now that the war game is over, the two Koreas will attempt to find ways of mending fences,” said a Seoul analyst who asked not to be named.

Foal Eagle started in March and involved around 10,000 U.S. troops, with additional service members in support.

Unlike previous drills, stealth aircraft participated openly this year, generating uproar from the Stalinist regime that countered with relentless verbal threats.

In particular, two bat-winged B-2s designed to carry nuclear weapons and F-22 fighters joined the drill.

Pyongyang regularly issues threats and intimidation during joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises but was far more provocative this year, following toughened U.S. sanctions in response to a rocket launch by the North in December and its nuclear test on Feb. 12.

Against this backdrop, the North banned entrance to the inter-Korean joint industrial zone in Gaeseong, located just north of the heavily-fortified Demilitarized Zone, and removed all of its 53,000 workers.

This prompted South Korea to withdraw its citizens employed by 123 Southern firms in the complex, which started to roll out goods in late 2004.