US ends suspension of military drills, amid North Korea tensions
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WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States will end its suspension of military drills on the Korean peninsula, the Pentagon said on Tuesday (Aug 28).
The suspension of several of the largest military exercises had been done as a "good faith" measure following President Donald Trump's summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Defence Secretary Jim Mattis told reporters.
"We have no plans to suspend anymore."
Mr Mattis, however, did not give any indication that exercises with allied forces in the region - which have angered Pyongyang in the past - would resume any time soon.
"We are going to see how the negotiations go, and then we will calculate the future, how we go forward," Mr Mattis said.
In June, after Mr Trump met Mr Kim in Singapore, the US said it would suspend "select" exercises with South Korea, including the large-scale Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercises slated for August, making good on a Trump summit pledge.
Some 17,500 US military personnel were due to take part in the Freedom Guardian drills.
In June, Mr Trump raised eyebrows by describing the exercises as "war games" and as "provocative" - a term used by the North.
Mr Mattis demurred when asked if a resumption of exercises could now be considered provocative.
"Even answering a question in that manner could influence the negotiations. Let's let the negotiations, let the diplomats go forward. We all know the gravity of the issues we are dealing with," he said.
US and South Korean forces have been training together for years, and routinely rehearse everything from beach landings to an invasion from the North, or even "decapitation" strikes targeting the North Korean regime.
