U.S., South Korea Revive Live Military Drills
SEOUL—For the first time in four years, the U.S. and South Korea will revive their live-action military drills, sharpening their preparedness as the North Korean nuclear threat worsens and China steps up its presence around Taiwan.
The 11-day joint drills, which start Monday in South Korea, are expected to feature once again jet fighters soaring in the skies, tanks rumbling down roads and thousands of soldiers simulating a conflict with the Kim Jong Un regime.
While a return to the large-scale exercises indicates that the U.S. and South Korea are normalizing their military alliance, the move will likely only encourage North Korea’s current move toward nuclear modernization, said Van Jackson, a former Obama administration Pentagon official now at New Zealand’s Victoria University of Wellington. For the governments in Beijing and Pyongyang, the military exercises will justify their defiance of Washington and its allies, he added.
“They will nudge China and North Korea closer together,” said Mr. Jackson, referring to the large-scale exercises.
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