WASHINGTON: The Pentagon’s nominee to be the next commander of U. S. forces in South Korea said on Tuesday that a decision to suspend…
WASHINGTON: The Pentagon’s nominee to be the next commander of U. S. forces in South Korea said on Tuesday that a decision to suspend some joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States was a « prudent risk » but had caused a « slight degradation » in readiness.
U. S. President Donald Trump caught many U. S. officials off guard earlier this year when he announced after an unprecedented summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that the United States was suspending the summer’s joint military drills with South Korea.
« The suspension of the exercise this past August and September, I would say was prudent risk if we’re willing to make the effort to change the relationship with the DPRK, » U. S. Army General Robert Abrams said, using the acronym for North Korea’s official name, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
« I think there was certainly degradation to the readiness of the force, » Abrams said during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
