Suspension of S. Korea-U.S. exercise could raise doubts about U.S. commitment: expert

Last week's temporary suspension of the U.S.-South Korea joint military exercise in the face of North Korean threats could raise questions about Washington's commitment to the defense of the Asian ally, a U.S. expert said.

Dennis Halpin, a visiting scholar at the Johns Hopkins University's U.S.-Korea Institute, made the point in an article to the Weekly Standard magazine on Aug. 21, 2015, saying the suspension was akin to the 1992 cancellation of the then joint exercise Team Spirit.

"An even momentary suspension of a scheduled joint military exercise in the face of threats cannot be reassuring to our South Korean allies who are looking for strong commitment at this critical juncture," Halpin said. "It also raises questions over whether the loudly proclaimed 'pivot' to Asia is, in fact, no more than a pirouette."

Last week, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense David Shear told reporters that the annual Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise had been temporarily suspended and then resumed as the two sides needed to do some coordination over an exchange of artillery fire with North Korea.

Halpin said the decision was similar to the 1992 cancellation of the Team Spirit exercise, which was made in order to remove an "irritant to North Korea" after the two Koreas issued a landmark joint declaration on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

"So, how did Pyongyang's leaders interpret the suspension in 1992 of the Team Spirit exercise, a defensive exercise held both for military preparedness and to reassure our South Korean allies of our commitment to security and peace on the Korean peninsula?" the expert said.

Rather than seeing the decision as an act of good will, the North responded with defiance, blocking International Atomic Energy Agency inspections and threatening to withdraw from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, he said.

"Brinksmanship is the modus operandi for North Korea's Kim family. Thus seeking to placate their regime is only playing the diplomatic game on their terms," Halpin said, quoting a book authored by North Korea expert Chuck Downs. (Yonhap)