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| South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo, left, shakes hands with U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis ahead of their meeting on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Saturday. / Yonhap |
By Choi Ha-young
South Korea and the United States' regular joint military exercises are likely to be scaled down, following Saturday's agreement between defense ministers of the two countries to create "positive conditions" for the upcoming summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
The downscaling is expected to include the reduction of deployment of U.S. nuclear submarines and strategic bombers around the Korean Peninsula along with the joint exercises.
South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo and his American counterpart James Mattis agreed to support the diplomatic measures toward denuclearization of North Korea in a joint press statement released after the bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 17th Asia Security Summit held in Singapore ― known as the Shangri-La Dialogue.
"Both ministers shared the stance that the Washington-Pyongyang summit will provide a historic opportunity in denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula and establishing permanent peace," the joint statement reads.
"For this, they promised to help create conditions favorable for the summit and tighten bilateral communication and mutual assistance."
North Korea has reacted sensitively toward the allies' joint military drills, which it calls a "rehearsal of war." Scaling down the exercises has been discussed as one option of guaranteeing the North's regime security and removing military threats to the country in denuclearization negotiations.
A South Korean ministry official added Sunday that both ministers agreed to carry out the combined exercises in a "low key." The official implied that advanced American weapons could be deployed for the drills, but there would be little or no media coverage allowed.
"The allies will carry out the military drills as scheduled. But we will not actively make them public," the official said. "We may not announce the deployments of the strategic assets, even though they are deployed according to our annual plan. This means we will refrain from excessive promotions, rather than cancelling the combined drills."
The allies, however, ruled out the possibility of withdrawing or reducing U.S. forces in South Korea.
The combined military exercises have irritated North Korea, as seen in the North's protests last month against the Max Thunder joint air force exercise. The protests, coupled with offensive remarks about Kim by former North Korean diplomat Thae Yong-ho who defected to the South, led to Pyongyang's abrupt cancellation of inter-Korean talks.
In a related move, the North blasted the South's participation in the Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC), as well as the annual Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG), which is scheduled to take place in August. RIMPAC, the U.S.-led biennial drill, is underway from May 30, joined by 26 countries.
"The relaxation of military tension around the peninsula is a critical issue in deciding the fate of Koreans," Pyongyang's state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun reported, Sunday. "The South Korean military's moves are clearly against the Panmunjeom Declaration."
The deployment of U.S. strategic bombers has put strains on the North Korean regime. Last September, when military tension peaked around the peninsula, two U.S. B-1B supersonic bombers and F-15C aircraft flew through international airspace over waters east of North Korea, for the first time since the armistice was signed in 1953.
