Joint Military Drills

[Anchor Lead]

U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis has said that South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises will no longer be suspended. Mattis's remarks will likely see a reaction, as they come amid a stall in the denuclearization talks between Washington and Pyongyang.

[Pkg]

The U.S. government has hinted at the possibility of resuming joint military drills with South Korea. U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis said recently that there were no plans to suspend joint military exercises with South Korea anymore. He said that so far the suspension of South Korea-U.S. military drills was a gesture of goodwill following the Singapore summit.

[Soundbite] James Mattis(U.S. Sec. of Defense) : "we took the step to suspend several of the largest exercises as a good-faith measure coming out of the Singapore summit. We have no plans at this time to suspend any more exercises."

When asked if the resumption of war games might be perceived as a provocation, Mattis said that the exercises had never been halted. He added that although some of the large-scale drills were suspended, the remaining exercises were not and that there are always ongoing military drills on the Korean Peninsula. However, Mattis pointed out that the war games can be suspended if President Trump wants and that the decision will be made in line with progress in the denuclearization talks with North Korea.

[Soundbite] James Mattis(U.S. Sec. of Defense) : "We will work very closely, as I said, with the secretary of state, and what he needs done we will certainly do to reinforce his effort."

This apparently means that the joint war games between the U.S. and South Korea could go hand in hand with the denuclearization talks. The U.S. secretary of defense added that no decision has been reached on whether or not to conduct the Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercises next year and that he would discuss the matter with the Department of State. Mattis's remarks are seen as a push to Pyongyang to deliver on its denuclearization promises amid the stalemate in the talks between the U.S. and North Korea.