The Key Resolve 2018 Exercise Will Only Be Delayed If North Korea Stops Provocations

Here is the latest on the idea floated by President Moon to delay the annual Key Resolve military exercise:

South Korea and the United States may delay their joint military exercises only for the duration of the Winter Olympic Games to be held here next year and if the North halts its military provocations, a ranking South Korean official said Wednesday.

The remarks came one day after South Korean President Moon Jae-in said in an interview with U.S. broadcaster NBC he has proposed delaying the military drills, which North Korea accuses of a war rehearsal, as part of efforts to reduce tensions during the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games.

Such a proposal, however, “is limited to holding the Olympic Games peacefully,” an official from the South Korean presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said, while speaking on condition of anonymity.  [Yonhap]

You can read the rest at the link, but Key Resolve is typically executed every March.  Whatever the delay is cannot be too long because of the summer change over of personnel in USFK that begins in June plus the next military exercise UFG 2018 is typically executed each August.

Here is what USFK’s position on the delay is:

The United States forces stationed in South Korea said Wednesday it is committed to the two countries’ decision on whether to delay their annual military drills and announce their final decision in an appropriate time.

“We want the PyeongChang Olympics to be successful and have committed to our ally that we will aid their success,” the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC) said in a short press release. The CFC is led by Vincent Brooks, the commanding general of the U.S. Forces Korea.  [Yonhap]

I guess we will see what happens in the coming months.