North Korea’s Response to Allied Exercises Could Shape Trump Meeting

SEOUL—U.S.-South Korean military exercises that began Sunday are set to test the durability of a diplomatic opening with North Korea aimed at halting the regime’s nuclear program.

The annual exercises will run through the end of April, involving thousands of U.S. troops and 300,000 South Korean personnel. The Pentagon has described the maneuvers on the peninsula as defensive in nature and said that they would take place on the “same scale, scope and duration as previous years.”

The U.S. is expected to refrain from bringing military hardware to the region that has upset the North Koreans in the past, including aircraft carriers and B-1 and B-2 bombers. One element, however, will include a patrol drill by the USS Wasp amphibious assault ship and F-35B stealth fighters, according to a U.S. official.

Read the full article at The Wall Street Journal