Washington: On Sunday, The US and South Korea said they will end their annual large-scale joint military exercises as Washington pursues efforts to improve ties with North Korea. The decision comes days after the conclusion of US President Donald Trump's second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi, which ended without a formal agreement but with both sides suggesting they would keep talking.
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However, Trump has ruled out withdrawing any of the 28,500 US forces based in South Korea to defend it from its nuclear-armed neighbour, which invaded in 1950. Any such drawdown would face strong pushback from the US Congress and Japan, whose conservative government is deeply wary of North Korea's intentions. But the US president has complained repeatedly over the cost of the military drills, which Pyongyang has always condemned as provocative rehearsals for invasion.
It is worth mentioning here that during a Saturday phone call between South Korean Defence Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and his US counterpart Patrick Shanahan, "both sides decided to conclude the Key Resolve and Foal Eagle series of exercises," according to a Pentagon statement.
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Foal Eagle is the biggest of the regular joint exercises held by the allies and has always infuriated Pyongyang. In the past, it has involved 200,000 South Korean forces and some 30,000 US soldiers. It is accompanied by Key Resolve, a computer-simulated war game conducted by military commanders which usually begins in March and runs for about 10 days.