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US F-18A fighter aircraft from the USS Carl Vinson prepare to participate in the Key Resolve-Foal Eagle military training on Mar. 14

Joint South Korea-US military exercises scheduled to begin on Apr. 1 have reportedly been shortened. A South Korean government senior official said on Mar. 19 that the Foal Eagle exercise will be “beginning as originally planned on the first of next month” after being postponed for the Pyeongchang Olympics.

“However, the exercise’s original duration of two months through May has been downscaled and adjusted to last only for the month of April,” the official added.

On the reason for the combined field training exercise’s downscaling, the official explained, “My understanding is that with the delay in the overall exercise schedule due to the Olympics, issues arose with the long-term mobilization of troops.”

The computer simulation-based Key Resolve command post

exercise will reportedly be taking place for two weeks in mid-April as

originally scheduled. The exercises will also reportedly not be including US aircraft carriers or nuclear submarines. The decision is believed to be a reflection of the shift toward dialogue on the Korean Peninsula since the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, with an inter-Korean summit expected in April and a North Korea-US summit in May.

“The decision not to include US aircraft carriers in these exercises was made long ago irrespective of the recent political situation, and my understanding is that the scale of troops participating in the exercises will be at the same level as in past years,” a senior military official said.

The Ministry of National Defense is scheduled to officially announce the schedule and scale of the joint exercises on Mar. 20.

By Park Byong-su, senior staff writer

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