Seoul-Washington Air Drill Suspended To Promote Peace: Defense Ministry

Sumaira FH Published October 20, 2018 | 04:28 PM

South Korea's defense ministry said Saturday it has decided to suspend a joint air exercise with the United States in a bid to lend support to the ongoing diplomatic efforts made for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

SEOUL, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 20th Oct, 2018 ) :South Korea's defense ministry said Saturday it has decided to suspend a joint air exercise with the United States in a bid to lend support to the ongoing diplomatic efforts made for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

The Ministry of National Defense said the decision to suspend the annual exercise, Vigilant Ace, was made to support the diplomatic moves to bring complete denuclearization and permanent peace to the Korean Peninsula.

South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis will also discuss maintaining their defense readiness at the Military Committee Meeting (MCM) and the Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) slated for later this month in Washington, it added.

Vigilant Ace, which was scheduled to be held in December, is the latest joint exercise to be suspended to encourage North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons program. The event has been held annually since 2015.

Last year, F-22 and F-35A stealth jets were mobilized during the joint air exercise, eliciting condemnation from North Korea.