South Korea to announce joint military drill plan with U.S.

T TV Tuesday 20/February/2018 13:28 PM
By: Times News Service

South Korea and the United States will announce plans before April for a postponed joint military drill. This comes after a temporary thaw (which may freeze again) in relations with North Korea over the Winter Olympics.
After delaying joint military drills with the U.S. for the Winter Games and the Paralympics, Seoul's defence ministry said Tuesday, February 20, it will reveal plans for this year's exercises with the U.S. before April. And officials say talks to stage the drills are now moving forward.
When the drills were delayed, the North agreed to come to the Games and eventually that led to an invitation for the South's president Moon Jae-in to meet with Kim Jong Un in North Korea. But if drills start up again, that prospect may be at risk.
North Korea denounces the annual drills as preparations to invade, and it warned earlier this month if they happen this year it would not "sit idle".
The news came as South's state media also reported both sides had been weighing up the idea of somehow co-hosting another, smaller sports event: the 2021 Asian Winter Games. Pyongyang's own member on the Olympics committee even suggested his new event could make use of the North's luxury ski resort across the border.