US, South Korea Decide to End Joint Key Resolve, Foal Eagle Military Drills

Yonhap reported that the decision was made by South Korea's Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan during their telephone conversation on Saturday.

"The minister and secretary made clear that the alliance's decision regarding the adjustment of the exercise and drills reflects both countries' expectation to back diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions and achieve the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula through a final, full verified method," Yonhap quoted the South Korean defense ministry as saying.

But, the United States and South Korea will hold the new "Dong Maeng" ("Alliance") combined military exercise on March 4-12 to replace the discontinued Key Resolve and Foal Eagle drills, Yonhap news agency reported on Sunday citing South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff and the South Korean-US Combined Forces Command.

The move follows the two-day summit in Hanoi between US President Donald Trump and Nortk Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

The much-anticipated second summit between Trump and Kim was cut short on Thursday, with both leaders leaving Vietnam early before an expected signing ceremony. The White House announced that no deal was reached during the summit in Hanoi.

While Trump stressed that during talks with Kim, they had failed to reach an agreement due to North Korean demands to lift sanctions, Pyongyang contradicted the US leader’s assertion, stating that it had expressed readiness to the Washington during the talks to fully dismantle its nuclear program in exchange for a partial removal of sanctions.

After their first face-to-face meeting in Singapore last June, which took place after a historic inter-Korean summit and Kim’s talks with Xi Jinping in China, the US and North Korean leaders agreed to work towards the denuclearization of the peninsula in exchange for sanctions relief and security guarantees.

But, US-North Korea talks for a denuclearization deal appear to have stalled, in part due to disagreements over the timing of sanctions relief. While Pyongyang has since stopped testing ballistic missiles or nuclear bombs, the Americans continue to insist the country's nuclear program must be fully dismantled before they deliver on their part of the deal. Also, North Korea is demanding a solid guarantee of its security and the removal of Washington’s nuclear umbrella protecting allies South Korea and Japan.

North Korea has also denounced the US administration for stepping up sanctions and pressure on the country, warning that disarming Pyongyang could be blocked forever. North Korean authorities have also complained about continued US and UN sanctions, calling them a “source of mistrust”.

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