美、韓將縮減年軍事演習
The U.S. said Wednesday it will scale back military exercises with South Korea next year, so the war games are not a hindrance to diplomacy over ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis said the exercises with Seoul, called Foal Eagle, are conducted each spring in South Korea, but will be "reduced in scope" in 2019.
He gave no details of how the exercises will be downsized, but said the reduced scope was an effort by the two allies to encourage further negotiations in the stalled talks between the U.S. and North Korea over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program.
"Foal Eagle is being reorganized a bit to keep it at a level that will not be harmful to diplomacy," Mattis said. North Korea has frequently objected to the U.S.-South Korean exercises, viewing them as a threat to its existence as a nation.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un agreed at a June summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Singapore to end Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program. But since then negotiations have slowed over how and when North Korea would dismantle its nuclear arsenal.
The Trump administration has said it hopes North Korea's nuclear weapons program will have been shut down by the end of Trump's first term in the White House in January 2021.
Trump has said that another summit with Kim could take place, but no date or place for such a meeting has been announced.美國週三表示將在明年縮減與韓國的軍事演習，這樣美韓軍演就不會妨礙結束朝鮮核武器計劃的外交努力。
美國國防部長馬蒂斯說，與首爾舉行的名爲“禿鷲”的軍事演習每年春天在韓國進行，但2019年將“縮小規模”。
他沒有詳細說明將如何縮小演習規模，但表示這是兩個盟國在美朝之間就平壤的核武器計劃談判陷入停滯後爲鼓勵進一步談判而作出的努力。
馬蒂斯說，“‘禿鷲'演習正在進行一些重組，以維持在不傷害外交努力的水平。”朝鮮一直反對美韓演習，將其視爲對朝鮮作爲一個國家存在的威脅。
朝鮮領導人金正恩與美國總統特朗普6月份在新加坡舉行的峯會上就結束平壤的核武器計劃達成一致。但自那時以來，有關朝鮮解除其核武庫的方式和時間的談判進展放緩。
特朗普政府表示希望在總統在2021年1月的第一個任期結束前取消掉朝鮮的核武器計劃。
特朗普已經表示可能會再次與金正恩舉行峯會，但沒有宣佈會議的日期或地點。
