US, ROK to go ahead with delayed drills

Decision set for March as DPRK warn exercise could hamper peace progress

SEOUL — The date for the annual Republic of Korea-United States war games, which were delayed for the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, will be unveiled after the Paralympic Games end in mid-March, South Korea’s defense chief said on Tuesday.

Defense Minister Song Young-moo told a parliamentary defense committee that US Secretary of Defense James Mattis and he will announce the exact schedule for the joint military exercises between March 18 and the end of the month.

The Winter Olympics, which kicked off on Feb 9, will run until Feb 25. The Paralympic Games will follow from March 9 to March 18 at the same venue in the eastern ROK.

The ROK and the US had agreed to postpone their joint annual war games, codenamed “Key Resolve” and “Foal Eagle”, to make the Winter Olympics a peace Olympic.

The announcement of schedule for the exercises would throw a wet blanket on the emerging signs of a thaw in ties between the ROK and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, which denounces the war games as a rehearsal for an invasion.

The DPRK sent its athletes and cheerleaders, as well as a high-ranking delegation, to the Games, showing its willingness to improve inter-Korean relations and ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

The DPRK contingent included Kim Yo-jong, the younger sister of top DPRK leader Kim Jong-un. She attended the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics and met with ROK President Moon Jae-in at the Blue House.

Kim Yo-jong delivered an invitation to Moon to visit Pyongyang for a meeting with Kim Jong-un, opening a possibility for the third inter-Korean summit meeting.

Moon replied by saying the neighbors should create conditions to make it happen, and asked the DPRK to more actively talk with the US.

The first inter-Korean summit was held in 2000 between then-ROK president Kim Daejung and late DPRK leader Kim Jong-il, father of the current leader.

The second one was held in 2007 between Roh Moo-hyun and Kim Jong-il.

Meanwhile, the DPRK again warned against resumption of the war games, saying they would spoil the atmosphere of reconciliation.

Resuming the war exercises “is a provocative act of chilling the active efforts of the DPRK and enthusiasm of the international community to defuse tension and create a peaceful environment,” said the official Korean Central News Agency.

The commentary said whenever the joint military exercises were held, peace and security on the Korean Peninsula were seriously threatened and the hard-won atmosphere for reconciliation and cooperation between the north and the south were spoiled in a moment.