Defense officials said on Tuesday that the annual military drills between the United States and South Korea, previously postponed to avoid inflaming tensions with North Korea, will take place on April 1.
The two countries said in a joint statement that the exercises would be similar in scale to those of previous years, but as CNN writes, the drills seem to be occurring within a shorter timeframe. The two nations also said in the statement that the “Foal Eagle and Key Resolve” drills would last for four weeks. Last year, Foal Eagle began on March 1 and continued until the end of April, lasting a total of two months.
The shorter time frame also appears to suggest that the exercises may be over by the time President Donald Trump meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in May, marking a historic moment for the two nations.
“Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis and the Republic of Korea Minister of National Defense Song Young-moo have agreed to resume the annual combined exercises including Foal Eagle and Key Resolve which were de-conflicted with the schedule of the Olympic Games. The exercises are expected to resume April 1, 2018, at a scale similar to that of the previous years,” Pentagon spokesman Colonel Rob Manning said in a statement issued late Monday.
“The United Nations Command has notified the Korean People’s Army on the schedule as well as the defensive nature of the annual exercises,” Manning added, referring to the official name for North Korea’s military.
Although some have questioned whether the 2018 military drills would be the same length and scale as previous iterations given the recent diplomatic engagement with North Korea, Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Logan stressed that the exercises “are the same scale, scope and duration as previous years.”
In the past, Pyongyang, which sees the drills as a direct provocation, has asked the U.S. to suspend exercises to allow for diplomatic negotiations with North Korea regarding its nuclear program.
The South Koreans said the postponement was part of an effort to reduce tensions with the North and help ensure a successful Olympics, while U.S. officials claimed the postponement was due to logistics and a need to “de-conflict” the exercise with the Olympic Games.
“This year’s Foal Eagle field training exercises will involve about 11,500 U.S. forces and some 290,000 South Korean troops,” said Logan, the Pentagon spokesman.
“Our combined exercises are defense-oriented and there is no reason for North Korea to view them as a provocation,” Logan said, adding, “They ensure the ROK-U.S. alliance is prepared to defend the Republic of Korea.”
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