Canceling an upcoming meeting with South Korea at Border Village in the DMZ, North Korea’s official KCNA news agency said Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un might scrap his June 12 summit in Singapore with President Donald Trump. Kim’s expressed opposition during this time of delicate reconciliation with the U.S. and South Korea conducting annual joint military exercises. Throwing a monkey wrench into the upcoming summit, the Pentagon should reconsider the necessity of holding joint military exercises before Trump sees how far diplomacy can go on June 12. Calling the two-week “Max Thunder Drills” which involve 100 aircraft an “intended military provocation,” less than a month before Kim and Trump are due to meet,. KCNA called the joint military drills with B-52 bombers and F-22 stealth fighters a bad will gesture before the June 12 Singapore summit.
When you consider all the overtures made by South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Kim in recent meetings, Kim took the continued U.S.-South Korean military exercises as a slap in the face. There’s zero reason, other than scheduling, that the U.S. and South Korean need to hold joint exercises before the summit, especially if it’s viewed in bad faith by Pyongyang. “The United States must carefully contemplate the fate of the planned North Korea-U.S. summit amid the provocative military ruckus that it’s causing with South Korean authorities,” said KCNA, raising a good point about the timing of U.S.-South Korean military exercises. If the Pentagon wants Trump to meet with Kim in the best possible atmosphere, then North Korea’s wishes should be considered. There’s plenty of time, should the summit go poorly, for the U.S. and South Korean to resume military drills.
North Korea’s complained about U.S.-South Korea joint military drills for some time, seeing them as preparation for invasion. North Korea has consistently said its nukes and ballistic missiles were a safeguard against possible U.S. invasion. Since signing the armistice July 27, 1953. the U.S and South Korea have been technically in a state of war with North Korea. Kim’s recent talks with Moon and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have been about signing a peace treaty, officially ending the Korean War. Kim sees joint military drills as more than routine exercises but as preparation for invasion, despite that fact that it hasn’t happened in 64 years. Trump and Moon need to recalculate the message before what could be an historic summit, paving the way for peace of the Korean Peninsula. No one thought it was possible only a few months ago before the Seoul Winter Olympics.
If the U.S. and South table the war games for a month, it would be a much-needed gesture before the Singapore summit. Last month Kim and Moon met in a cordial atmosphere talking about “complete de-nuclearization” of the Korean Peninsula. Trump’s agreement to meet with Kim was based on his commitment made to Moon about disarming his nukes and ballistic missile arsenal. Canceling a high-end meeting with North Korean officials raised anxiety in South Korea, not knowing how it affects Trump’s June 12 meeting with Kim. Pentagon and South Korean military leaders need to carefully recalculate the necessity of war games before the upcoming summit. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said there’s been no indication from North Korea the meeting with Trump would change. There’s simply no reason to antagonize Kim before the upcoming meeting.
State Department officials want no change of plans before to the upcoming summit. “The defensive nature of these combined exercises has been clear for many decades and has not changed,” said Army Col. Rob Manning. Calling the war games “routine, annual training program to maintain to maintain the foundation of military reasdiness,” Manning doesn’t get the adverse PR value before Kim and Trump take the plunge into global summitry. With so much riding on the summit, it’s time for the Pentagon to stop making excuses and see the bigger picture. There’s absolutely no need to go ahead with Max Thunder or Foal Eagle, to coordinate U.S.-South Korean military readiness. If the war games bother North Korea, there’s no need to continue them until after the summit, if at all. If Trump gets a peace treaty with North Korea, there’s no more need for war games with South Korea.
Trump needs to put the Pentagon on notice to postpone the current war games with South Korea until after the June 12 summit. When Kim released into Pompeo’s custody three U.S. citizens of South Korean descent May 8, Kim was making a peace overture to the U.S. It’s time for Trump to return the favor and delay war games with South Korea. It doesn’t matter whether or not the Pentagon sees the war games as “routine” or “defensive” in nature. What matters is that North Korea wants a peace offering from the U.S. With the summit set June 12, Trump doesn’t want to rock-the-boat before the world holds its breath as both leaders meet face-to-face. Postponing the joint drills now would send a powerful message to Kim that the U.S. means business when it comes to making peace. There’s no weakness in reciprocating a peace gesture before the big event.
