Joint military drills postponed due to virus fears

Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) spokesman Col. Kim Joon-rak announces the decision by Korea and the United States to postpone their annual springtime joint military exercises due to the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. Left is Col. Lee Peters, director of public affairs for the Combined Forces Command and the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK). / Yonhap

By Kang Seung-woo

Amid the surge in COVID-19 cases across the peninsula, Korea and the United States have decided to postpone their annual joint military exercises indefinitely, officials said Thursday. The allies had initially planned to hold the exercises in March.

The decision marks the first time that the two countries have had to modify the schedule of their combined drills due to a public health problem.

“In light of the government's declaration of the highest alert level of 'severe' for COVID-19, the ROK-U.S. alliance has made the decision to postpone the combined command post training for the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command until further notice,” Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) spokesman Col. Kim Joon-rak said during a press briefing at the defense ministry in Seoul. Col. Lee Peters, director of public affairs for the Combined Forces Command and the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), accompanied Kim.

Stressing the decision was not made lightly, officials said the postponement would not negatively affect the alliance's combined military posture.

“The Korean JCS and USFK's commitment to the ROK-U.S. alliance remains ironclad and unbreakable,” they said in a statement.

“Despite the postponement of combined training, the ROK-U.S. alliance remains committed to providing a credible military deterrence and maintaining a robust combined defense posture to protect the ROK against any threat,” it continued.

The decision comes as Korea is seeing the largest outbreak of the coronavirus outside of China, with over 1,600 people infected. More than 20 cases have been confirmed within the Korean military, and a 23-year-old American soldier stationed at Camp Carroll in Chilgok, North Gyeongsang Province ― near Daegu where the majority of recent infections have been confirmed ― has also tested positive for the virus. He is the first U.S. service member to be infected.

As a result, the U.S. State Department raised its alert level for travel to Korea to Level 3 on a four-level scale, Wednesday, urging its citizens to “reconsider travel” to the country, while the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command has restricted all nonessential Department of Defense travel to the country.

According to the allies, JCS Chairman Gen. Park Han-ki proposed postponing the exercises to USFK Commander Gen. Robert Abrams, who agreed based on the severity of the coronavirus situation here.

“The ROK-U.S. alliance assessed the decision to postpone the training and will adhere to and support Korea's containment and mitigation plan for COVID-19,” they said.

Until 2018, the allies held large-scale exercises called Key Resolve and Foal Eagle every spring. However they were replaced with command-post exercises without field maneuvers last year, amid peace overtures involving North Korea. Pyongyang has repeatedly strongly denounced the military exercises in the South, calling them a rehearsal for an invasion of the North, and has intensified tension on the Korean Peninsula with threats of nuclear strikes against the South and the United States.