U.S., S. Korea end longtime military exercises

U.S. and South Korean officials announced Saturday night that they will end longtime military exercises that had riled North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s regime and drawn criticism from President Donald Trump, replacing them with smaller operations.

The Pentagon disclosed the decision after a pho n e call between acting defense secretary Patrick Shanahan and his South Korean counterpart, Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo. They agreed “to conclude” the exercises, replacing them with “newly designed Command Post exercises and revised field training program.”

“The Minister and Secretary made clear that the Alliance decision to adapt our training program reflected our desire to reduce tension and support our diplomatic efforts to achieve complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in a final, fully verified manner,” the statement said.

The specifics and names of the new exercises were not disclosed Saturday. But a U.S. defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions, said Shanahan had hoped to find a solution that would allow the U.S. and South Korean militaries to continue the elements of the exercises focused on maintaining joint readiness while foregoing elements that in the past had been intended as a show of force.

Those elements, the Pentagon leadership has concluded, could be viewed as saber-rattling at a time when the military looks to support diplomacy with North Korea, the official said. The plans to scale back the exercise are expected to have some impact on readiness, officials said, but it’s not yet clear how much.