[Editorial] Postpone joint military exercises to lower tensions on Korean Peninsula

The Vigilant Ace joint military exercises, which include US F-22 fighter jets, begin on Dec. 4 and will run through Dec. 8. (Yonhap News)

On Dec. 4, the South Korean and US air forces launched Vigilant Ace, their largest ever air exercise. This exercise involves more than 230 planes, including six F-22 Raptors, an American stealth fighter, marking the first time that six F-22 fighters have been deployed to the Korean Peninsula at the same time. The large scale of the drill seems designed as a response to North Korea’s launch of the Hwasong-15 ICBM on Nov. 29. While this is claimed to be an annual drill, it will certainly increase military tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

Recently, US President Donald Trump has doubled down on his harsh stance toward North Korea. White House National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster said on Dec. 2 that the likelihood of war with North Korea is “increasing every day.” CIA Director Mike Pompeo, who has been mentioned as the next Secretary of State, blustered that Kim Jong-un apparently does not realize the danger he is in and that no one wants to use military force. On Dec. 3, senior Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who has perhaps the closest relationship with President Donald Trump of anyone in the Senate, said that the US is running out of time while arguing for the need to launch a preemptive strike on the North. Graham even said he would ask the Pentagon to move the families of American troops out of South Korea.

The US government and Congress have never tossed around the phrases “military option” and “preemptive strike” as frequently as they are doing right now. The fact that Washington is now within range of the North Korean nuclear weapons appears to have made the American government extremely skittish.

Everyone knows that the cause of this behavior is North Korea. But it is not as easy for South Korea to speak of war as for the US. At times like this, Seoul must be proactive about keeping its priority on containing the situation on the Korean Peninsula. While this drill will have to go forward as planned, it would be advisable for Seoul to positively consider the option of delaying the joint exercises with the US that overlap with the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in February. Since the UN has declared an Olympic truce, it would be contradictory for the country hosting the games to carry out a large-scale military exercise just because it is a yearly event.

If South Korea is carried along with the unrelentingly hardline mood in the US, it could miss the right timing for relaxing tensions. It is important for the South Korean government to maintain balance. The role it must play is winning over the Trump administration and lowering tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

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Caption: The Vigilant Ace joint military exercises, which include US F-22 fighter jets, begin on Dec. 4 and will run through Dec. 8. (Yonhap News)