Lee Min-hyung joined The Korea Times in 2014 and has worked as a journalist mainly in Korea’s finance, tech and automotive industry. He specializes in content creation, breaking news and in-depth analysis currently on transportation and mobility. You can reach him via mhlee@koreatimes.co.kr.
Korea and US axe two annual, large-scale joint military drills
A CH-47 Chinook helicopter flies above the United States Army Garrison-Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province on Apr. 23 last year for a Key Resolve command post exercise. / Yonhap
By Lee Min-hyung
By Lee Min-hyung
South Korea and the United States have decided to stop holding annual large-scale military exercises in spring, replacing them with smaller-scale ones, in a move to avoid provoking North Korea, the allies' military commands said Sunday.
The decision ends the Key Resolve and Foal Eagle joint drills, the largest joint exercises that usually take place in the first half of the year.
Instead, the allies will carry out Dong Maeng combined command post exercises as a replacement for the two, according to Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and the U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC). The word means alliance in English, and the new exercise will focus on the strategic, operational and tactical aspects of military operations on the peninsula, according to the allies.
“Dong Maeng has been modified from the previously held spring exercises Key Resolve and Foal Eagle,” the CFC said in a press release.
JCS Chairman Park Han-ki and CFC Commander Gen. Robert Abrams said in the statement, “Exercise Dong Maeng provides us the opportunity to train and rehearse with South Korea, U.S. and United Nations Sending State Partners.”
The statement came a day after Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and U.S. Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan had a 45-minute telephone conversation starting 10 p.m. Saturday (KST) during which they made the decision and shared their views on the denuclearization of the peninsula.
Dong Maeng will be held from March 4 to 12, except for the weekend, on a much smaller scale than the previous two exercises, the allies said.
The move reflects the ongoing peace momentum on the peninsula, with North Korea also avoiding any military provocations in line with its pledge for complete denuclearization.
Starting last year, the North has, in particular, urged the allies to stop holding joint exercises, which the regime says goes against the ongoing mood for peace.
Seoul and Washington have yet to fix this year's plans for their joint exercises, but both are expected to cancel or scale down other exercises planned for the latter half of the year.
The announcement comes on the heels of the second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un that ended Thursday. Both sides were expected to sign a detailed “peace agreement” during their second meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam, but the highly-anticipated summit ended with no joint statement.
Both sides, however, signaled that they would continue to talk. President Trump said Sunday, “North Korea has an incredible, brilliant economic future if they make a deal, but they don't have any economic future if they have nuclear weapons.”
Shanahan expressed regret that Washington and Pyongyang failed to reach a final agreement during the summit.
Even though no progress was made at the summit, both defense chiefs agreed to continue diplomatic efforts to ease tension and achieve the nuclear disarmament of the North.
Seoul and Washington have carried out Key Resolve command post exercises since 2007. The Foal Eagle combined field training drill has taken place annually since 1975.
Despite the decision to end the exercises, the allies pledged to maintain their security readiness at all times, saying, “It is important for professional armies to train and maintain a standard of readiness.”