S. Korea, U.S. agree to delay Key Resolve, Foal Eagle until after PyeongChang 2018
한미연합훈련 키리졸브•독수리연습 평창올림픽 이후로 연기 Meanwhile Washington wants to clarify the drills are "delayed" not "halted." Pentagon officials say the combined exercises will resume after the Games come to an end. Some experts point out, this decision by the U.S. is NOT up for negotiation with Pyongyang. Our defense correspondent Oh Jung-hee files us this report. Every spring, South Korea and the United States hold two large-scale joint military exercises... that usually kick off in late February or early March. They are... a computerized command post drill called Key Resolve,... and a field drill called Foal Eagle. In the case of last year, Key Resolve took place for two weeks in mid-March... and Foal Eagle for two months from March to April. This year, the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics are to be held throughout most of February,... and the Paralympics... for two weeks in mid-March. Considering the dates of the exercises last year,... there was a high possibility... that this year's drills could overlap with the Games. On Thursday's decision to delay the drills,... the two countries' Combined Forces Command quoted a Pentagon spokesperson... stating that it's to "focus on ensuring the security of the Games" and that "routine exercises are required" to maintain military readiness. U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis also emphasized... that the postponement is simply due to logistical concerns... and the exercises will resume after the Paralympics comes to a close. (Korean) "The U.S. made clear that the postponement is only to resolve the overlap of the exercises and the games,... nothing more than that. The U.S. is firm that the delay is not for negotiating with Pyongyang." The South Korea-U.S. joint 'Ssangyong' or 'Double Dragon' landing exercise -- which was initially planned to take place in late March -- may be rescheduled as well,... with the dates currently under discussion. But military officials say,... Seoul's unilateral and domestic drills will be carried out as planned. Oh Jung-hee, Arirang News. Arirang News Facebook: / arirangtvnews ------------------------------------------------------------ [Subscribe Arirang Official YouTube] ARIRANG TV: / arirang ARIRANG RADIO: / music180arirang ARIRANG NEWS: / arirangnews ARIRANG K-POP: / arirangworld ARIRANG ISSUE: / arirangtoday ARIRANG CULTURE: / arirangkorean ------------------------------------------------------------ [Visit Arirang TV Official Pages] Facebook: / arirangtv Twitter: / arirangworld Instagram: / arirangworld Homepage: http://www.arirang.com ------------------------------------------------------------ [Arirang K-Pop] YouTube: / arirangworld Facebook: / arirangkpop Google+: http://plus.google.com/+arirangworld
