North Korea's allergic reactions to US-South Korean military exercises continue to attract the world's attention and confusion. While Pyongyang condemns these regular drills as a veil for war preparations by Washington, the US and South Korea have for decades viewed them as essential for training, assurance and deterrence. Andrea Berger argues that, as a result, they have become a major thread in the complex web of security concerns and allied commitments that exist on the Korean Peninsula. Advances in the North Korean nuclear programme have made the situation surrounding joint exercises even more problematic, leaving a security dilemma that seems all but impossible to exit.
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