Korea war games suspension caused slight dip in readiness: U.S. general

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – 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. He added that he was confident that a mitigation plan was in plan to sustain readiness until the next series of exercises.

The suspension of the exercises was criticized in the United States as a premature concession to North Korea, which has resisted U.S. efforts to persuade it to give up its nuclear weapons.

Trump repeatedly touted the cost savings that would come with his decision to stop “the war games.”

One of the major exercises suspended by Trump was Freedom Guardian, which according to the U.S. military would have cost around $14 million.

Abrams said planning for military exercises scheduled for spring 2019 continued and the decision to go ahead with them rested with the leaders.

Abrams also said North Korea still had significant capabilities and the United States should remain “clear-eyed” about the situation on the Korean peninsula.

“All of the current steps that are ongoing are significant and we should take them at face value… there still remains a significant asymmetric and intercontinental threat from the DPRK,” Abrams said.