Seoul and Washington end large-scale military exercises
The scaled down exercises will support "diplomatic efforts to achieve complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula”. Key Resolve and Foal Eagle will be replaced by Dong Maeng. US President Donald J. Trump has repeatedly complained about the costs of US troop deployment in South Korea. Seoul has agreed to increase its contribution to US$ 924 million dollars.
Seoul (AsiaNews/Agencies) – South Korea and the United States have confirmed that they would no longer hold their annual springtime ‘Key Resolve’ and ‘Foal Eagle’ joint military exercises.
North Korea has always seen the manoeuvres as preparation for an invasion and always opposed them.
South Korean Defence Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and Acting US Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan announced that a smaller series of exercises called ‘Dong Maeng’ (Alliance) would be carried out.
Planned to support "diplomatic efforts to achieve complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," Dong Maeng began this morning until 12 March.
The new exercise involves staff and troops from the South Korean Defence Ministry, Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and operations commands of the Army, Navy and Air Force, and those from the South Korea-US Combined Forces Command (CFC), US Forces Korea and Indo-Pacific Command.
Dong Maeng “will focus on strategic, operational and tactical aspects of general military operations on the Korean Peninsula," the two militaries said in a joint statement.
Foal Eagle was the largest of the regular joint exercises held by the two countries. In the past, it has involved as many as 200,000 South Koreans and the 30,000 US personnel based in South Korea.
Key Resolve was a computer-simulated exercise alongside Foal Eagle.
President Trump has previously complained of the cost of such exercises and South Korea’s small contribution.
The South Korean government recently agreed to increase its contribution to US$ 924 million, putting an end to a dispute with its long-term ally.
The negotiations ended on 10 February with the announcement by South Korea’s Foreign Ministry that Seoul would pay about 8.2 per cent more than what it paid in the previous five-year agreement, which expired at the end of last year.
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12/02/2016 15:14
03/12/2010
