[Reuters/Yonhap News Photo]
"The reason I do not want military drills with South Korea is to save hundreds of millions of dollars for the U.S. for which we are not reimbursed," Trump tweeted. "That was my position long before I became President. Also, reducing tensions with North Korea at this time is a good thing!"
Trump's comment came after U.S. and South Korean military chiefs announced their agreement to replace two joint exercises -- Key Resolve, a command-post war game, and Foal Eagle, a field training exercise -- with a new low-level exercise named "Dong Maeng," which means alliance in Korean.
Dong Maeng will focus on "strategic, operational and tactical aspects of general military operations," the Pentagon and South Korea's defense ministry said in a joint statement, adding their agreement would support diplomatic efforts to achieve complete denuclearization "in a final, fully verified manner."
There are about 28,000 US troops stationed in South Korea. Washington and Seoul insist their joint military exercises are purely defensive in nature, but Pyongyang has condemned them as war rehearsals.
reporter
Lim Chang-won
cwlim34@ajunews.com
