Breaking promise with North Korea, US-South Korea conduct joint military exercises this week
The exercise took place in the context of the two Koreas making conciliatory moves ahead of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
Yonhap news agency quoted a South Korean defense official on February 1 as saying that the four-day exercise, called Warrior Strike, involved many US soldiers from the 2nd Infantry Division stationed in South Korea and South Korean soldiers.
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| Image of US soldiers during a Warror Strike exercise. Photo: USFK |
According to an unnamed South Korean official, the Warrior Strike exercise is much smaller in scale than the annual joint exercises "Key Resolve" and "Foal Eagle".
The regular military exercise is said to be aimed at improving the combat readiness of soldiers from both countries, with some simulated scenarios including the elimination of North Korea's weapons of mass destruction.
Meanwhile, the US military's Stars and Stripes newspaper reported that the main purpose of this exercise is to enhance the combat effectiveness of soldiers from a unit based in Texas who have been deployed to South Korea under a nine-month rotation program.
Previously, South Korea and the US agreed to postpone the joint military exercises "Key Resolve" and "Foal Eagle" until after the PyeongChang Olympics, which will take place from February 9-25 in the eastern town of PyeongChang. According to many sources, the "Foal Eagle" exercise is expected to begin on April 1 after the end of the Paralympic Games for the disabled, which will take place from March 9-18.
In late January, South Korea and North Korea held a series of meetings to discuss North Korea's participation in the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics. Pyongyang is expected to send a delegation of about 400 people to South Korea to attend the event.
Most recently, on January 31, the 2018 Olympic organizing committee announced that the two Koreas will coordinate to conduct four Taekwondo demonstrations at this first-ever winter sports event in South Korea.
In addition, North Korea has also agreed to send a delegation of 150 people, including athletes and supporters, to participate in the Paralympics for the disabled, taking place from March 9-18.
The above results are considered an unprecedented breakthrough in the history of sports exchanges between South Korea and North Korea, and are the latest sign of a "thawing" in relations between the two Koreas since North Korean leader Kim Jong-un left open the possibility of dialogue with South Korea in his 2018 New Year's message./.
