SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The South Korean and U.S. militaries are scaling back their annual exercises this month due to the COVID-19 pandemic and to support diplomacy on North Korea’s nuclear program. Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff says the allies decided to start the nine-day drills on Monday after reviewing factors like the status of the pandemic and diplomatic efforts to achieve denuclearization and peace on the Korean Peninsula. It says the drills are defensive in nature and are mostly tabletop exercises and simulations that won’t involve field training. Last year, the allies canceled their springtime drills after some of their troops were infected with the coronavirus. In recent years, they have suspended or downsized many of their regular training to create more space for talks with North Korea.
