The US said Monday that its major “Foal Eagle and Key Resolve” annual military exercises with South Korea will start April 1, an announcement that comes as President Donald Trump readies for a potential major summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, which could happen as early as May.
“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 Col. 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.
The exercise was originally supposed to take place during the Winter Olympics, which were held last month in Pyeongchang, South Korea, however US and South Korean officials opted to postpone it until after the Olympics and the Paralympics, which ended Sunday.
The South Koreans said the postponement was part of an effort to reduce tensions with North Korea and help ensure a successful Olympics, while US officials maintained the postponement was due to logistics and a need to “de-conflict” the exercise with the Olympic Games.
North Korea often views military exercises between the US and South Korea as a provocation aimed at the north and has used such military maneuvers to justify its nuclear and missile programs. In the past Pyongyang and even China have asked that the US halt such exercises to allow for diplomatic negotiations on North Korea’s nuclear program.
However, earlier this month, South Korea’s national security adviser told reporters at the White House that North Korea’s leader had invited Trump to meet and that Kim “understands that the routine joint military exercises between the Republic of Korea and the United States must continue.”
This year’s Foal Eagle field training exercises will involve about 11,500 US forces and some 290,000 South Korean troops, according to Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Christopher Logan.
Some observers have questioned whether the 2018 version of the military exercises will be the same length and scale as previous iterations given the recent diplomatic engagement with North Korea, but the Pentagon spokesman stressed that the exercises “are the same scale, scope and duration as previous years.”
“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-US alliance is prepared to defend the Republic of Korea.”