US, South Korea scale back joint military drills ‘to reduce tension’ with North Korea
(CNN)The United States and South Korea announced Saturday that annual large-scale exercises, which were a cornerstone and recent common feature of the defense relationship between the two militaries, will end and will be re-configured into smaller exercises that do not carry the same high profile as earlier versions known to have been a major irritant to North Korea
The large scale named military exercises, commonly known as Foal Eagle and Key Resolve, were scheduled for this spring. The joint exercises will be scaled back and done on a small unit level or even include virtual training similar to the 2018 scaled back exercises.
Defense officials have said they believe they can achieve the necessary training needs in this manner. The announcement follows a phone call Saturday between acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan and South Korean Minister of National Defense Jeong Kyeong-doo.
Read the full article in CNN.