US may resume war games as North Korea negotiations stall

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Guardian


Restarting drills with South Korea likely to infuriate regime, which has in the past responded with threats of force

Benjamin Haas in Seoul
@haasbenjamin
Wed 29 Aug 2018 00.18 EDT

The US secretary of defence, Jame Mattis, has suggested the US and South Korea could resume large scale military exercises, as negotiations with North Korea over its nuclear weapons program stall.

President Donald Trump announced the suspension of drills, which have long drawn the ire of Pyongyang, in the wake of his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore in June. But since that historic meeting, there has been little progress toward the US goal of North Korean denuclearisation.

“As you know, we took the step to suspend several of the largest exercises as a good-faith measure coming out of the Singapore summit,” Mattis said at a news conference on Tuesday. “We have no plans at this time to suspend any more exercises.”

Restarting military drills would likely infuriate North Korea, which has in the past responded to the annual drills with threats of force. But the comments highlight frustrations within the US administration over stalled nuclear negotiations.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/29/us-to-resume-war-games-as-north-korea-negotiations-stall

[global1]

1. Trump Will Probably Time New War Games Around The Midterms....

so as to elicit a response by Kim in the rattling of rocket strikes on the U.S. continent again. Anything to perhaps inhibit voter turnout or help the Repugs retain their power.

[Doodley]

2. But Trump said North Korea was no longer a threat.

[jb5150]

3. Oh my, it appears that Bone-spur Donnie

and Rocket man are on the outs. Don't be sad Donnie, Pootie still loves you.

[7962]

4. Good. Stopping them was a gift to China and a slight to South Korea.

Should have never happened to begin with. I think he just blurted it out because hes such a damn fool.
And they're called "exercises" not "war games". That term is used by China and NK. And of course, the idiot Trump; playing right into their hands using it.

[sinkingfeeling]

5. Guess IQ45's a tad jealous that the two Koreas are getting along

without him. This will mess up any negotiations they were having. Maybe South Korea won't play.

[soryang]

6. There is a report that Trump sent his own letter to Kim Aug 12 asking

... Kim to take measures give up his nuclear warheads, first. It set aside those aspects of the North Korean position reflected in the Singapore declaration. The report came from Channel A News Top Ten earlier today. Pompeo was reportedly, according to one account trying to work something around the dispute with North Korea, when Trump sent his letter to Kim, via Panmunjum. According to the Channel A "exclusive" report, it was Trump's letter which prompted the "hostile" response from Kim Yong Chol, the Vice Chairman. The presence of the diplomatic working group for the US at the White House when the "hostile letter" was discussed and the President cancelled Pompeo's mission to Pyongyang suggests that the return letter may have come back the same route.



An analysis of the current deadlock with North Korea was published in the Atlantic.com recently based upon a discussion with South Korea's top policy analyst. https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/08/north-korea-war-declaration/568603/

I wrote about the so called "hostile letter" here yesterday.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/113322017

It may be that Pompeo is getting the Tillerson treatment at this point. The US ambassador to Seoul is a career military person, the recent commander of PACOM, Admiral Harry Harris. Initially, there was consternation with respect to the suspension of the joint US South Korean exercises in the US. Mattis follows up with the not so veiled threat to resume joint exercises with South Korea saying he'll wait for the diplomats to play their role and see what happens. From the news in South Korea this morning, and their response, I doubt if they were consulted about this. While the MSM discusses Mattis remarks in terms of large military exercises next year, the large Vigilant Ace joint exercise in South Korea normally takes place in the first fiscal quarter. It last took place in December 2017.