Scaled-Down Military Drills Between US And South Korea To Go Ahead

South Korea and the United States have announced that they will hold joint military drills, despite potential talks between President Trump and Kim Jong Un.

However, the drills are likely to be more low-key than past years ahead of two highly anticipated summits among the countries' leaders.

The Pentagon said the exercises will begin on April 1.

The announcement comes as Donald Trump prepares for a major political summit with Kim Jong Un.

The exercises, named “Foal Eagle and Key Resolve”, will last for four weeks, meaning they would end before Trump met with the North Korean leader.

They were postponed during the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, which saw rare co-operative steps between the rival Korean nations after months of confrontation over the North's weapons programmes.

A Pentagon spokesman said:

"Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis and the Republic of Korea Minister of National Defense Song Young-moo have agreed to resume the annual combined exercises including Foal Eagle and Key Resolve which were de-conflicted with the schedule of the Olympic Games.

“The exercises are expected to resume April 1, 2018, at a scale similar to that of the previous years.

"The United Nations Command has notified the Korean People's Army on the schedule as well as the defensive nature of the annual exercises."

North Korea is known to view the exercises held between the US and South Korea as a form of provocation, and has used them as justification for nuclear testing in the past.

The exercises begin with Foal Eagle, a field training drill that will last about four weeks, compared with its typical two-month run.

The other drill, known as Key Resolve, is a computer-simulated command post exercise and is scheduled to start around the middle of April for a usual two-week run, a South Korean official said.

Choi Kang, vice president of Seoul's Asan Institute for Policy Studie said: 

"These are low-key drills. Now it's a dialogue mode so they are trying to keep pace with that."