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US Forces Korea (USFK) deployed in the Ulchi-Freedom Guardian joint military exercises
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Reports of behind-the-scenes discussions after Trump’s remarks
Following US President Donald Trump’s decision to suspend joint military exercises between South Korea and the US so long as good-faith dialogue is underway between North Korea and the US, the South Korean and American militaries have taken the first steps toward implementing that decision. If North Korea takes sincere steps toward denuclearization, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said, “We will seriously review the South Korea-US joint military exercises.” President Moon instructed the South Korean military to explore the details in close consultation with the US. South Korea’s Ministry of Defense announced that the top military officials in Seoul and Washington had discussed the question of halting the two countries’ joint military exercises over the phone on the evening of June 14. “During a phone conversation on the evening of June 14, South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo and US Secretary of Defense James Mattis shared the results of the North Korea-US summit in Singapore and the plenary session of South Korea’s National Security Council and discussed ways for the South Korean and American defense establishments to cooperate in the future,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement released on June 15. The two ministers also traded views in depth on the joint military exercises as a whole, including the upcoming Ulchi-Freedom Guardian (UFG) exercise, and agreed to “maintain close coordination going ahead while meeting directly as soon as possible to continue discussions,” the ministry added. The day before, Pentagon spokesperson Dana White said Mattis had not been surprised by Trump’s decision. White also avoided stating a clear position on the exercises’ suspension, saying only that Trump and Mattis had “had spoken on all of these issues in advance.” But sources report that South Korean and US military authorities have been holding discussions behind the scenes toward suspending the August-scheduled UFG exercises since Trump’s remarks, while also weighing whether to suspend the other two large-scale joint exercises Key Resolve (KR) and Foal Eagle (FE). US news outlets predicted an official announcement would be coming from the Pentagon shortly. CNN quoted White House, State Department, and Pentagon officials as saying the Defense Department was “expected to announce the formal suspension of planning for major August multilateral military drills on the Korean Peninsula as soon as Thursday [June 14],” adding that “detailed Pentagon guidance is expected this week on carrying out Trump's decision to suspend so-called ‘war games’ with South Korea.” Trump did not consult with experts before making decision? But the article also implied the decision was made suddenly without close discussions with either South Korea or the Pentagon, noting that the matter was “raising questions about whether the President sought military advice ahead of making his decision.” According to the US press reports, Trump did not listen to many expert opinions when making the decision, which could have major ramifications for the security order in East Asia. The CNN report quoted US officials as saying Mattis, Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford, and other top commanders were “trying to fashion detailed directives to the military on what exact exercises and drills will be suspended.” “A major challenge, according to these officials, is to turn Trump's broad intentions into detailed military guidance,” the article noted. Japan’s Asahi Shimbun newspaper also published a report suggesting the Japanese National Security Advisor Shotaro Yachi, who was sent to Singapore to gather information, did not hear anything about the decision when he met with US counterpart John Bolton. Many in Japan are concerned that if South Korea-US joint exercises are halted, North Korea’s next step could be to demand a ban on the deployment of long-range bombers, aircraft carriers, or other strategic assets to the peninsula or a reduction of withdrawal of US Forces Korea (USFK). As if to address conservatives’ concerns that the suspension of the exercises could weaken the South Korea-US alliance, President Moon declared that Seoul intends to “carry on unshaken South Korea-US cooperation and an allied defense posture rooted in a solid South Korea-US alliance.” “The peace and development of the Korean Peninsula should be approached from a more comprehensive perspective [than the question of whether to hold military exercises],” he added. “It’s time for us to go beyond security issues of North Korea’s denuclearization and regime security and accept peace on the Korean Peninsula and the shared prosperity of South and North as the new zeitgeist.” By Park Byong-su, senior staff writer, and Gil Yun-hyung, staff reporter Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
