South Korea and the United States will Resume their Military Exercises on April 1

South Korea and the United States will resume joint military exercises on April 1 due to the Winter Olympics in South Korea's Pong Qiang last month, BTA reported on Tuesday, quoting AFP and TASS.

A spokeswoman for the South Korean Ministry of National Defense noted that the maneuvers would be on the same scale as in previous years. She did not specify how long the teachings would continue and how many soldiers would participate in them. These joint maneuvers of South Korea and the US generally involve tens of thousands of troops and increase tensions on the peninsula.

North Korea lays the teachings as a general rehearsal to invade its territory, recalls France Press. The agency notes that this year the maneuvers will be held despite the diplomatic breakthrough on the Korean Peninsula. Negotiations are currently underway for a two-month Korean summit next month to be followed by a meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Against this backdrop, rumors were spreading that this year, the joint exercises of South Korea and the United States would be limited so as not to break the diplomatic process with the North.