Will the 'US-ROK Joint Military Exercises' be suspended at the first US-ROK summit? ... Jeong Dong-young "August exercises not confirmed"

[Financial News] The issue of adjusting the US-ROK joint military exercises is likely to be discussed as an agenda at the first summit between President Lee Jae-myung and US President Donald Trump.
For the adjustment of the US-ROK joint military exercises, the consent of the US side, which deploys large-scale troops for the exercises, is essential. President Trump has repeatedly raised the necessity of suspending the US-ROK joint military exercises.
Prior to the US-ROK summit, the presidential office plans to hold a National Security Council (NSC) meeting next week. Whether the issue of adjusting the US-ROK joint military exercises 'Eulji Freedom Shield' (UFS, Eulji Freedom Shield), scheduled for mid-August, will be discussed at this meeting is drawing attention. It is reported that this issue was discussed at the deputy minister-level NSC working coordination meeting held on the 29th, but no conclusion was reached.
Minister of Unification Jeong Dong-young stated on the 31st, when meeting with reporters on his way to work, that it is not true to assume that the US-ROK joint military exercises in August will proceed as scheduled.
 Minister Jeong also commented on the differing positions of the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Unification, saying "(The Lee Jae-myung administration is) one team. There is no separate Ministry of Unification and Ministry of National Defense," adding, "This was also the case with the recent US-ROK tariff negotiations." He further explained, "The Ministry of Unification and the Ministry of National Defense have different reasons for existence. It is the role of the NSC to coordinate these well."
 The Ministry of National Defense has stated, "The US-ROK joint military exercises are conducted in mutual consultation according to the agreed procedures between the two countries, and there have been no changes to the content so far."  The US-ROK Combined Forces Command also stated that it has not yet been officially informed of any proposals for adjustment or postponement of the exercises currently being discussed within the South Korean government.
The US side is also not assuming the possibility of postponing the exercises, and preparations such as the dispatch of reinforcement troops from the US mainland are already underway.
However, there is a possibility that the situation may change depending on President Trump's political judgment. The US Department of Defense has also acknowledged that the exercises may be adjusted according to President Trump's policy or the political situation in both the US and South Korea. There is speculation that President Trump may suspend or reduce the exercises for reasons such as resuming negotiations with North Korea or budget savings.
In fact, in June 2018, President Trump officially announced the suspension of the US-ROK joint military exercises immediately after the US-North Korea summit in Singapore. He stated that "such exercises could be inappropriate and provocative during negotiations with North Korea," and mentioned that the US bears most of the cost of the exercises. As a result, major large-scale US-ROK joint military exercises such as Freedom Guardian, Key Resolve, and Eagle scheduled for that August were suspended. Instead, only some small-scale exercises or computer simulations (CTX) were conducted instead of large-scale field training exercises (FTX).


rainman@fnnews.com Kim Kyung-soo reporter