Seoul: South Korea said on Tuesday it has decided to scrap an annual government mobilisation drill this year as part of a suspended joint exercise with US but will carry out its own drills to maintain readiness.
The ministers of safety and defence made the announcement at a media briefing on Tuesday. The drill, called the Ulchi exercises, usually takes place every August in tandem with the joint Freedom Guardian military drill with US.
Seoul and Washington said in June they would halt the joint exercise after US President Donald Trump pledged to end war games following his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore on 12 June.
Seoul’s presidential office has said the suspension of the combined exercise could facilitate ongoing nuclear talks between North Korea and US.
South Korea would develop a new drill model by incorporating Ulchi and the existing Taeguk command post exercises, which would be aimed at fighting militancy and large-scale natural disasters, the ministers said.
That incorporated exercise would be launched in October when the Hoguk field training drill takes place, the ministers said.
“Our military will carry out planned standalone drills this year and decide on joint exercises through close consultations with the United States,” defence minister Song Young-moo said.
(Reuters)