South Korea and the United States have decided to resume a scaled-down version of joint military exercises on April 1st. The drills were postponed due to the Winter Olympics.
Both sides have stressed that the exercises are defensive in nature. North Korea has traditionally denounced the drills as preparation for war. But during his meeting with South Korean special envoys last week, North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un said he would “understand” if the drills went ahead. In the spirit of maintaining warmer inter-Korean ties, the simulations this year will be “lower profile” without US strategic assets such as nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, which were deployed during last year’s exercises.
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