US General Says Drills ‘Absolutely’ Needed as Korea Floats Shift

The top US commander on the Korean peninsula said regular exercises between the allies are “absolutely” necessary to maintain peace and impose pressure on North Korea after officials in Seoul floated adjusting the drills to facilitate dialogue with the nuclear-armed neighbor.

“Russian-DPRK collaboration is real. It is not a quid-pro-quo relationship. It is real,” General Xavier Brunson, the commander of US forces in South Korea, said in a webinar on Thursday. DPRK stands for the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.