South Korea is urging the US to postpone their next round of joint military exercises until after the Winter Olympics to avoid provoking North Korea, according to a report.
President Moon Jae-in told NBC News that the drills could be delayed if Pyongyang also shows willingness to pause its nuclear and missile tests before the games in February.
“If North Korea stops its provocations leading up to the Pyeongchang Olympics, it will greatly help in holding a safe Olympics,” he said. “Also, it will help in creating conducive atmosphere towards inter-Korean as well as US-North Korean dialogue.”
The US and South Korea hold frequent military drills to test their readiness should a conflict break out with the rogue regime.
The biggest, known as Key Resolve and Foal Eagle, are held each spring and involve about 17,000 American troops and more than 300,000 South Koreans.
The North has offered to freeze its nuclear and missile programs in exchange for a halt to the military drills by the US and South Korea – which it sees as a rehearsal for an invasion.
Russia and China also support what they describe as a “dual suspension” solution to the standoff.
In November, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported that the country was considering postponing the drills.
Seoul, which is intent on preventing an interruption of the Winter Games, has bolstered security for the event and plans to deploy around 5,000 troops, double the number at the 2002 World Cup.
It also has ratcheted up cybersecurity to prevent hacking attempts.
Moon sought to allay any fears, telling NBC News that “there’s no reason to be concerned about the safety, and as the president of the Republic of Korea I assure you that.”
He added: “I hope that this Olympics will be able to promote the peace between the North and South Korea and become an Olympics for peace.”