U.S., S. Korea again call off military drills
SINGAPORE — The United States and South Korea are scrapping another major military exercise this year, a Pentagon official said Friday, citing a push for diplomatic progress with North Korea.
It was the latest move aimed at trying to nudge North Korea, which despises such U.S.-South Korean exercises, into negotiating about giving up its nuclear weapons in a way that can be verified.
Vigilant Ace is an annual exercise last held in December 2017.
Dana White, the top Pentagon spokeswoman, said Mattis and his South Korean counterpart are “committed to modifying training exercises to ensure the readiness of our forces. They pledged to maintain close coordination and evaluate future exercises.”
She said Mattis consulted Japan’s Minister of Defense Takeshi Iwaya on the matter and they “reaffirmed their commitment to regional security.”
Mattis was in Singapore for a meeting of Asian defense ministers. On Friday he met with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts and then met separately with the Japanese minister.
In June the Pentagon canceled this year’s Freedom Guardian exercise after President Donald Trump announced that he disapproved of what he called U.S. “war games” in South Korea. He called the maneuvers provocative and expensive.
Trump made the announcement after meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
For decades, North Korea has objected to large-scale U.S.-South Korean military drills, calling them dress rehearsals for an invasion and part of an American strategy to stifle the North.
Last year’s version of Vigilant Ace involved more than 200 aircraft from the U.S. and South Korea flying from eight bases.