Joint drill dangerous game for Peninsula

The Ulchi Freedom Guardian military drills conducted by the Republic of Korea and the United States every year always unfold like this: the ROK and the US mobilize forces each summer to simulate "defending" against a "nuclear-capable" Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and the DPRK then makes a tit-for-tat response vowing to take resolute steps for a "preventive war".

But this year, the US-ROK joint military exercise, which is being staged from Aug 21 to 31, is slightly different as the participation of local US forces in the 11-day exercise has been scaled down from 25,000 last year to 17,500 this year. It's widely hoped, if only speculation, that the US military will show restraint on the annual large-scale computer-simulated drill this year.

If so, the move will elicit sighs of relief from most people in the region, if it is intended to cool tensions, as this year there is a much greater chance than ever before of sparking the powder keg that the Korean Peninsula has become.