By Joyce Lee
SEOUL, Aug 19 (Reuters) – Scheduled joint U.S. and South Korean military drills are expected to be cut by about half, South Korean media reported on Wednesday, following President Donald Trump’s order to substantially reduce U.S. participation in the annual exercises.
The Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise, which began on Sunday, had been due to run into next week.
The allies were set to complete the first, defensive phase of the exercise this week and cancel or defer a second phase involving counterattack operations, reports by broadcasters KBS, MBC, as well as newspapers Kyunghyang and DongA, said.
Some planned field training was also expected to be postponed or cancelled, the reports said.
U.S. Forces Korea declined to comment and referred questions to the Pentagon. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while South Korea’s Defence Ministry also had no immediate comment.
The reported reduction follows Trump’s order on Sunday to “substantially reduce” U.S. participation in the annual exercise, citing his “very good relationship” with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
NORTH KOREA DENOUNCES DRILLS
North Korea again denounced the drills on Wednesday, saying it would continue exercising its right to self-defence against what it called military threats from Washington and Seoul, state media KCNA reported.
A KCNA commentary called the United States and South Korea “warmongers” raising tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
It did not mention Trump, his order or the reported plans to reduce the exercise.
Trump has also pushed aides to arrange an in-person meeting with Kim as soon as this autumn, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing U.S. officials.
Trump has discussed holding talks during a possible November trip to Asia for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, China, the newspaper said.
Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
Trump said on Monday that Kim had responded to his outreach, without disclosing the nature of the contact.
Pyongyang routinely condemns joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises as rehearsals for invasion, while Washington and Seoul say they are defensive and necessary to maintain readiness against North Korea’s military threats.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said on Tuesday the Ulchi exercises were defensive and that Seoul had no intention of using them to attack North Korea or heighten tensions on the peninsula.Uncertainty over the joint military drills comes as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visits South Korea on Wednesday and Thursday for talks expected to cover developments on the Korean Peninsula and regional security issues.
(Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Ed Davies)
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