On Friday, the Pentagon announced a joint decision with South Korean partners not to hold the Vigilant Ace annual exercise in the United States and the Republic of Korea in December.
According to an official statement released by the press service of the US military, the event, which usually involves at least 12,000 US and South Korean troops, will not be held this year as a sign of both countries' readiness to support the positive steps towards improving relations between the United States and the Korean People's Democratic Republic.
The message came against the background of the efforts of Washington and their Pacific allies, primarily Seoul and Tokyo, to force Pyongyang to abandon the implementation of a nuclear missile program.
The Americans and South Koreans have previously canceled the teachings of Ulchi-Freedom Guardian (Ulchi is the guardian of freedom) scheduled for August of this year.
In 2017, 230 fighters (including the F-22 Raptor, the F-35 Lightning II, the F-16 Fighting Falcon, the F-15 Eagle and the F-18 Hornet) were involved in the Vigilant Ace drills from the American side; special purpose devices (EA-18G Growler). The South Korean air force was represented by F-15K Slam Eagle and F-4 Phantom II fighters.
However, one should not think that the planners at the Pentagon are so naive as to completely eliminate the measures of joint US-South Korean combat training of troops. Instead of large exercises, the military of the two countries expect to increase the number of different trainings at the level of tactical units aimed at improving the quality of interaction and working out coordination in squadrons.
