The timing of the decision raised questions about whether Trump was giving away a major piece of leverage over North Korea, which has long denounced the exercises as provocative, and failing to get anything in return.
The Pentagon is permanently canceling the large-scale military exercises in South Korea usually held in the spring, U.S. officials said Friday, handing Pyongyang a long-sought concession only days after a summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un“Why negotiate with the United States when it makes concessions for free?" Abraham Denmark, a former top Pentagon official during the Obama administration,.
Thousands of U.S. and South Korean troops had conducted the exercises, known as Key Resolve and Foal Eagle — annually for more than a decade. But last year, President TrumpThe spring maneuvers will be replaced by smaller-scale training that doesn’t call for large-scale field maneuvers but still ensures that U.S. and South Korean forces can repel a North Korean invasion, said the officials, who did not want speak on the record ahead of the formal announcement, expected Saturday..
U.S. officials are expected to inform South Korea of the decision shortly, the officials said. The decision wasPentagon officials and U.S. commanders in South Korea, where the U.S. keeps 28,500 troops, have been discussing changes to the exercises since they were suspended last year, officials said. It was initially expected that the cancellation announcement could be part of a summit agreement between Trump and Kim.Other annual U.S.
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