US, South Korea suspend additional military exercise
US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and his South Korean counterpart Jeong Kyeong-doo have cancelled the ‘Vigilant Ace’ military exercise that was slated for December, a Pentagon spokeswoman said Friday.
The two officials agreed to suspend the drill to ‘give the diplomatic process’ with Pyongyang ‘every opportunity to continue,’ spokeswoman Dana White said in a statement.
‘Both ministers are committed to modifying training exercises to ensure the readiness of our forces,’ the statement read, saying the need for future exercises would continue to be evaluated.
Japan’s Minister of Defense Takeshi Iwaya was consulted on the matter, the statement said.
Following US President Trump’s June meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the United States said it would suspend ‘select’ exercises with South Korea, including the large-scale Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercises scheduled for August.
Vigilant Ace is an air exercise aimed at improving coordination between the two armies that takes place every year in early December in South Korea.
Last year, 230 aircraft and some 12,000 US and South Korean troops participated.
In August Mattis had said the Pentagon would ‘see how the negotiations go, and then we will calculate the future, how we go forward.’
US and South Korean forces have been training together for years, and routinely rehearse everything from beach landings to an invasion from the North, or even ‘decapitation’ strikes targeting the North Korean regime.
Last month, the then nominee to head US and UN forces in South Korea said the pause in drills had been a ‘prudent risk’ to help facilitate a detente on the peninsula.
But there ‘was certainly a degradation in the readiness of the force, for the combined forces,’ General Robert Abrams told the Senate Armed Services Committee at his confirmation hearing.
You may also like
More from Defence Notes
-
![From systems integrator to multi-domain solutions provider (video)]()
From systems integrator to multi-domain solutions provider (video)
Philipp von Brandenstein, Head of Corporate Communications at Rheinmetall, explains how Eurosatory 2026 marked a new stage in the company's evolution.
-
![US Pentagon pushes for major reform of defence acquisition system]()
US Pentagon pushes for major reform of defence acquisition system
The US Department of Defense has requested new contracting authorities from Congress, using the Army's MV-75 Cheyenne programme to demonstrate how competition, digital engineering and closer industry collaboration could accelerate acquisitions.
-
![US speeds up B61-13 nuclear bomb production as programme moves further ahead of schedule]()
US speeds up B61-13 nuclear bomb production as programme moves further ahead of schedule
The US government plans to accelerate production even further after achieving key B61-13 milestones months ahead of schedule, as the programme advances amid growing US-China strategic competition.
-
![Canada’s C$2 billion ACSV deal reinforces new defence industrial strategy as allies align]()
Canada’s C$2 billion ACSV deal reinforces new defence industrial strategy as allies align
General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada is the country’s first strategic partner under the Defence Industrial Strategy’s Strategic Partnership Framework, an effort to provide companies with confidence to invest and boost the defence labour force.
-
![New UK armed forces minister frames High North defence as vital to “homeland security”]()
New UK armed forces minister frames High North defence as vital to “homeland security”
The UK’s Minister for the Armed Forces Louise Sandher-Jones made her first appearance in the role before the House of Commons Defence Committee this week to highlight efforts to improve capability in the High North.
-
![Canada seeks to strengthen industrial ties with the US on classified programmes]()
Canada seeks to strengthen industrial ties with the US on classified programmes
Ottawa explores expanding defence-industrial cooperation with Washington into sensitive programmes, an approach that could reshape NORAD modernisation, strengthen North American supply chains and create new opportunities for defence contractors.
