Pentagon formally suspends upcoming ‘war game’ with South Korea

The Pentagon on Monday night formally followed through on President Trump’s directive to suspend upcoming military drills in South Korea.

In a statement, Defense Department spokesperson Dana White said the joint military exercises with South Korea scheduled for August, known as Ulchi Freedom Guardian, have been canceled, and that the Pentagon is weighing its options moving forward.

Defense Secretary James N. Mattis will meet with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other top Trump administration officials later this week to discuss the future of U.S. military drills on the Korean peninsula, the Pentagon said.

“Consistent with President Trump’s commitment and in concert with our Republic of Korea ally, the United States military has suspended all planning for this August’s defensive ’wargame,’ ” Ms. White said. “We are still coordinating additional actions. No decisions on subsequent wargames have been made.”

Immediately after his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un last week in Singapore, Mr. Trump called for the end of joint military drills with South Korea, saying they were “provocative” to Mr. Kim’s government and were an impediment to peace.

Mr. Mattis had been informed ahead of time that the president intended to order those drills canceled, Pentagon officials have said.

Ulchi Freedom Guardian is one of several major military exercises the U.S. holds in conjunction with South Korea each year. Last year, the 10-day computer-simulated exercise involved more than 17,000 U.S. troops, in addition to South Korean forces, according to Defense Department figures.

The U.S. military also holds two concurrent drills in the spring: Foal Eagle and Key Resolve.

Foal Eagle involves more than 11,000 U.S. troops and nearly 300,000 South Korean forces, the Pentagon has said, and focuses on field training. Key Resolve involves about 12,000 troops and 10,000 South Koreans and is geared more toward computer-simulated efforts.

Pentagon officials say they’ve made no decisions on the future drills, but Ms. White said Mr. Mattis will meet with Mr. Pompeo and national security advisor John Bolton at the Pentagon later this week.

For now, it appears all other U.S. military in the region will continue as usual.

“There is no impact on Pacific exercises outside of the Korean Peninsula,” Ms. White said.