Joint military drill likely to be downsized

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

National

Sat, September 23, 2023 | 21:13

Defense

Joint military drill likely to be downsized

Posted : 2021-05-30 16:24

Updated : 2021-05-30 17:29

President Moon Jae-in speaks during a luncheon with party leaders at Cheong Wa Dae, Wednesday. Moon said it may be difficult to carry out a South Korea-U.S. military joint drill that involves a large number of military personnel, due to the current pandemic situation. Yonhap

By Kwon Mee-yoo

An annual combined military exercise between South Korea and the United States, scheduled for the second half of the year, is likely to be once again staged in a scaled-back manner, with President Moon Jae-in remaining skeptical of conducting a large-scale drill, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

During a luncheon meeting with the leaders of both the ruling and opposition parties, to share the results of the Korea-U.S. Summit in Washington, Wednesday, Moon said it may be difficult to carry out a field exercise involving a large number of military personnel, due to the current pandemic situation.

Moon added that the two countries will decide on how, when and at what level to hold the joint exercises in a prudent manner, but he did not comment on the possibility of normalizing the South Korea-U.S. joint drills this year, even after the U.S. vowed to supply vaccines for Korean soldiers.

During the Korea-U.S. summit earlier this month, U.S. President Joe Biden pledged to provide full vaccinations for all 550,000 Korean troops "both for their sake, as well as the sake of the American forces."

Biden's remarks sparked hopes of normalizing the joint drill in the second half of this year, if the vaccines are distributed and Korean soldiers are inoculated quickly.

The South Korea-U.S. joint exercises are usually held twice a year, but the first one in 2020 was canceled due to the pandemic and two subsequent drills were downsized.

Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Martin Meiners told Yonhap News that joint military drills are a key measure for ensuring the readiness of South Korean and U.S. forces, adding that the scope and timing of future exercises will be determined through close consultation between the two allies.

Shin Beom-chul, director at the Center of Diplomacy and National Security at the Research Institute for Economy and Society in Seoul, said COVID-19 should not be an excuse for delaying or downsizing the joint drills.

"If the vaccine comes from the U.S. in June, there should be no problem with conducting the joint military exercise in August. It is not logical for President Moon to cite COVID-19 as the reason for delaying the joint drill," Shin told The Korea Times. "It is not advisable for the South Korean government to imply downsizing the joint drill right after pledging to strengthen Korea-U.S. relations."

Shin recognizes that it might be difficult to hold a full-scale military exercise amid efforts for inter-Korean reconciliation, as North Korea will denounce the combined drill as the rehearsal for an invasion.

"However, the joint exercise could be scaled down to bring North Korea back to the negotiating table. The U.S. is also making efforts to reach out to Pyongyang, and if North Korea signals its return to dialogue, there should be a flexible diplomatic approach toward the joint drill," Shin said.

meeyoo@koreatimes.co.kr