MILITARY planners in Seoul and Washington have given the go-ahead for a scaled-down version of Team Spirit war games at the end of March, according to sources in Seoul.
Preparations for the annual military exercises are in full swing as the February 21 deadline for North Korea agreeing to the International Atomic Energy Agency inspection of its alleged nuclear weapons facilities nears, the US and Korean sources said.
Seoul regards the holding of Team Spirit, which every year sparks fierce condemnation from Pyongyang as a rehearsal for a nuclear strike from the South, as a major weapon in its bid to put pressure on the North to agree to inspections.
South Korea and the US, which offered to call off Team Spirit if Pyongyang co-operated with the agency late last year, is still prepared to abandon the war games if Pyongyang meets the February deadline.
''But it seems increasingly likely that Team Spirit will go ahead,'' a senior South Korean government official said.
''Planners in Seoul and Washington have decided to hold the exercise four to six weeks after the February 21 deadline, with the most likely date being the last week in March.
''Team Spirit will almost inevitably proceed as it is the only leverage we have for preventing the North from developing its nuclear weapons programme.