Can South Korea and the United States usher in a joint military exercise in August? South Korea: Need to consider a variety of factors before making a decision

　　Chinanews, August 2 According to Korean media reports, the joint military exercise between South Korea and the United States in the second half of the year is tentatively scheduled to be held on August 16.

A few days ago, the defense ministers of the two countries may have talked over the phone to discuss related matters.

The United States firmly believes that military exercises will be held, while the South Korean side said that it will consider many factors before making a decision.

　　South Korea’s Ministry of Defense stated on July 30 that Secretary of Defense Xu Xu was invited to talk on the phone with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin who was visiting Southeast Asia on the same day.

The two sides may discuss the issue of the South Korea-US joint command post exercise scheduled to be held in August.

Data map: On April 2, 2017, local time, in Pohang City, South Korea, the South Korean Navy participated in the South Korean-US joint military exercise "Harrier Eagle" landing exercise.

　　According to the South Korean Ministry of Defense, the two defense ministers discussed the pending defense affairs of the two countries and assessed the security situation on the Korean Peninsula.

　　Both sides agreed that South Korea and the United States should maintain a firm defense posture and close communication.

　　In the press release issued by the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Korea after the call by the Defense Minister, there was no mention of whether there was any discussion about the joint military exercise between South Korea and the United States.

However, considering that the Korea-U.S. joint performance is tentatively scheduled to be held on August 16, the two sides may have expressed their views and coordinated positions on this.

　　According to the report, the United States believes that joint exercises will be held in order to maintain the defense cooperation, but the South Korean side hopes to make a decision after considering various factors to maintain the situation on the Korean peninsula after the restoration of the communication line between South Korea and North Korea, thereby promoting denuclearization. negotiation.

In addition, South Korea regards the rebound of the new crown epidemic as a variable.

　　A related person from the Korean army said that the US has its own position on the issue of joint exercises.

From the current point of view, the possibility of postponing the exercise is unlikely, and it is more likely to adjust the scale of the exercise.

　　South Korea and the United States launched the joint command post exercise for the first half of 2021 on March 8. The exercise will be conducted in a virtual manner on a computer and will not conduct field training.

Affected by the epidemic, the exercises are scattered in many places, reducing the gathering of personnel, and the scale of the exercises is greatly reduced.