U.S. acting ambassador affirms joint exercises with South Korea

Kevin Kim, the acting U.S. ambassador to South Korea, said on Dec. 8, “Defense Minister An Kyoo-baek described the joint U.S.–South Korea military exercises as the military’s lifeline and emphasized their importance. This reflects the direction we hope to see moving forward.”

His comments signaled clear opposition to the idea that scaling back the exercises could be used as leverage to restart dialogue with North Korea.

Kim spoke with reporters after a closed-door meeting with First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo. He added, “We will continue discussions with senior South Korean officials.”

The remarks came amid reports that Washington had raised concerns following last month’s statement by Minister of Unification Jeong Dong-young, who suggested that adjustments to the exercises would be unavoidable to help facilitate a North Korea–U.S. summit early next year.

On Dec. 7, National Security Office official Wi Seong-rak said at a press briefing on the six-month achievements of the Lee Jae-myung administration, “The joint exercises are not being considered as a direct lever to push for denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula.” Earlier, on Dec. 3, President Lee said at a press conference, “Even raising the possibility of discussing the South Korea-U.S. joint exercises, if it helps America’s strategic leverage, could help create the conditions for negotiation.”

However, the Ministry of Unification maintained that adjustments to the joint exercises remain an option. At a regular briefing on Dec. 8, spokesperson Yoon Min-ho said, “The U.S.–South Korea joint exercises carry significant meaning not only in military terms but also for inter-Korean relations and the broader situation on the Korean Peninsula. They could be subject to discussion if conditions and circumstances allow.”

Minister Jeong echoed that view in a welcome address delivered on his behalf by Vice Minister Kim Nam-joong at a joint seminar hosted by the Ministry of Unification and the Korean Political Science Association. He stated, “Building peaceful inter-Korean relations oriented toward unification, and institutionalizing peaceful coexistence based on that foundation, is a primary and essential task.”

Separately, Kim commented on the omission of the term “Korean Peninsula denuclearization” from the U.S. National Security Strategy report. He noted, “President Donald Trump and President Lee reaffirmed their commitment to North Korea’s complete denuclearization in a joint fact sheet. This reflects our current Korea policy.” Kim stressed that Washington’s stance on North Korea’s denuclearization has not changed.

The joint fact sheet released after the South Korea-U.S. summit on Nov. 14 stated that “the two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea and to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.”

Kim added that he and Vice Minister Park had productively discussed ways to achieve the best coordination on various issues, including North Korea’s complete denuclearization, which both leaders have agreed on and reaffirmed. He also addressed the possibility of launching a task force to revise the nuclear cooperation agreement, saying it remains under discussion and that more time is needed to determine how the process will unfold.


Na-Ri Shin journari@donga.com