US, S Korea to Downsize Military Drills Amid N Korea Denuclearisation - Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The United States and South Korea will decrease the scale of their regular joint military exercises, scheduled for spring, in order to facilitate Pyongyang's denuclearisation process, NHK World-Japan broadcaster reported on Monday.

According to the broadcaster, citing sources in the South Korean Defence Ministry, the Key Resolve and the Foal Eagle exercises, which will begin in March, will not include maneuvering units this year in a bid to prevent hurting diplomatic efforts aimed at promoting denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula.

READ MORE: N Korea Must Take Practical Steps to Speed Up Denuclearization — Moon Jae-in

The US and South Korean armed forces conduct annual joint drills in spring and practice their response to a potential armed conflict on the peninsula. The Key Resolve exercise will aim to coordinate the militaries' chains of command, while Foal Eagle will have forces practice a marine landing.

Last year, the drills' time frame was shortened and a part of military training was canceled amid positive dynamics between the two Koreas.

The long-standing tensions on the Korean Peninsula started to ease after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un committed to denuclearizing and held historic summits with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump last year.

Trump has been considering a second summit with Kim to speed up the denuclearization talks. Earlier in January, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said that Trump would hold his second summit with Kim at the end of February.