S. Korea, U.S. mull resumption of field training during allied drills next month

SEOUL, July 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States are considering resumption of combined field training during their regular military exercise set for next month, informed sources said Monday, as the allies are striving to sharpen deterrence against North Korea's evolving threats.

Seoul and Washington have been weighing the idea of conducting field maneuvers during their combined command post training (CCPT) scheduled to take place from Aug. 22 to Sept. 1, according to the sources.

Under the preceding liberal Moon Jae-in administration, the allies refrained from holding large-scale field training in tandem with their semi-annual CCPT using computer simulation, in apparent efforts to facilitate diplomacy with Pyongyang.

The allies' new move came in line with an agreement from the May summit between President Yoon Suk-yeol and his U.S. counterpart, Joe Biden, to begin dialogue on expanding the "scope and scale" of combined drills on and around the Korean Peninsula.

During next month's exercise, the South and the U.S. also plan to hold the full operational capability (FOC) assessment, the second part of the three-stage program designed to vet Seoul's capabilities to lead the allies' combined forces.

The FOC assessment is a key procedure for the envisioned transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) from Washington to Seoul. The two sides agreed last year to hold the FOC assessment during their defense ministerial talks in Seoul.

sshluck@yna.co.kr
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