South Korea and the US are to kick off their annual joint military drills this week without mobilizing US-based troops after scaling back the program due to COVID-19 concerns, a military source in Seoul said yesterday.
The allies have been discussing how to adjust the exercises with the border closures threatening to disrupt the travel of US personnel.
The program involves tens of thousands of soldiers from both sides, though it is largely focused on computerized simulations rather than live field training.
Photo: EPA-EFE/ YONHAP
The exercises are to be held from Sunday to Aug. 28, but in a reduced scale, though the time frame was extended by a couple of days to disperse participants and minimize night activities, the source said.
A South Korean Ministry of Defense spokesman said the plans have not yet been finalized.
Jacqueline Leeker, a spokeswoman for US Forces Korea (USFK), said regular training is aimed at maintaining “trust, proficiency and readiness,” but did not provide details.
The 28,500-strong USFK has reported at least 65 COVID-19 cases among its troops, employees and their families since last month, prompting concerns among South Korean residents near their bases.
All cases were confirmed upon arrival or while in two-week mandatory quarantine.
Leeker said the US Army has stepped up its preventive control measures, and would require soldiers to undergo a COVID-19 test before traveling internationally.
The combined drills are closely monitored by North Korea, which calls them a “rehearsal for war” and had already been reduced in the past few years to facilitate US negotiations aimed at dismantling Pyongyang’s nuclear program.
This year’s drills also provide a chance to assess South Korea’s readiness to take over wartime operational control, and the change could complicate South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s drive to complete the transfer before his term ends in 2022.
The US agreed to hand it over on the conditions that South Korea has secured key military capabilities to lead the combined defense posture and effectively counter the North’s nuclear and missile threats, and that there is a security environment conducive to a transfer.
The allies are to determine whether the conditions are met after three rounds of tests, the first of which was done last year.
The source said this year’s test has “limits,” as Washington is not bringing evaluators because of COVID-19 concerns.
Park Won-gon, a professor at Handong Global University, said at least 300 evaluators are required for the test.
“Now that the second-round evaluation is postponed, the final test and the decision will likely take place after Moon’s term is over,” Park said. “To meet the requirements, resolving the North Korean nuclear issue is also essential, in which stalled negotiations and the upcoming US presidential election play a factor.”
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