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An American bomber B-1B and South Korean and American fighter jets fly over the Korean peninsula during the Vigilant Ace aerial combat exercise. (Document / Getty Images)
Paul Sonne
A national security reporter focusing on the US military
The United States and South Korea have suspended a major air power exercise scheduled for December. This is the fourth military training operation that the two allies canceled following talks on nuclear disarmament with North Korea.
US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and his South Korean counterpart have decided to cancel the joint military exercise, known as Vigilant Ace, "to give the diplomatic process every chance to continue Pentagon spokeswoman Dana W. White said in a statement Friday.
"Both ministers committed to modify training exercises to ensure the availability of our forces," said White. "They are committed to maintaining close coordination and evaluating future exercises."
US military exercises with South Korea, which improves capabilities and prepares the two allies to work together in the event of conflict, have long irritated North Korea, which describes them as "war games" and often provokes a reaction. negative when they take place.
In June, President Trump met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore and agreed to suspend some military exercises as a concession to Pyongyang during the disarmament talks. North Korea has not tested intercontinental ballistic missiles or nuclear warheads.
Trump has made regular statements in recent weeks suggesting that all US military exercises with South Korea have been suspended. But training operations at a lower level between the two allies continued quickly.
Following the Singapore summit, only three high-profile exercises were suspended: Ulchi Freedom Guardian and two training operations under the Korean Maritime Exchange Program. Friday's decision to suspend Vigilant Ace marked the fourth year canceled.
Vigilant Ace is above all an air combat exercise in which combat planes from both countries meet and fly in various scenarios. The Pentagon described the annual exercise as a way to strengthen the capacity of the two countries' armed forces to operate together and to "ensure peace and security on the peninsula".
Mattis was not in favor of suspending the military exercises, according to former US officials, who said he had pleaded against tabling during negotiations. The Pentagon sees regular military exercises as an essential means of deterring so-called enemies and convincing its allies that Washington will defend itself successfully in the event of conflict.
Trump, however, has long been skeptical about military exercises and suggested that joint training operations conducted by the United States with South Korea are a waste of money. The president also hesitated over the cost of some 30,000 US troops stationed on bases in South Korea and at one point appeared to threaten to suppress them altogether.
The Pentagon said Friday that Mattis had consulted with his counterpart in Japan about the suspension of the Vigilant Ace exercise and that the two men "reaffirmed their commitment to regional security."
Although Trump had previously suggested that the United States suspend their military exercises with Japan, the Pentagon claimed that they continued without interruption.
Earlier this month, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met Kim in Pyongyang, along with leaders from South Korea and China to discuss nuclear disarmament in North Korea. Pompeo said he wanted to hold a second summit between Trump and Kim.
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