Annual US-South Korea military drills kick off on Sunday. This comes after DPRK leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in agreed to hold a historic meeting this month. The annual drills, Foal Eagle and Key Resolve, usually involve ground, air, naval and special operations troops and run for almost two months. However, this year, for the first time ever, the length of the drills will be cut by half and the scale, much smaller. CGTN's Natasha Hussain takes a look at the changes and Pyongyang's shift in attitude towards the exercises. 

The US-South Korea military exercises have long been a bone of contention with the DPRK. In March 2017, about 20-thousand US troops and 300,000 South Korean forces were put into "the largest ever" joint military drills on the Korean Peninsula. USS Carl Vinson, a 93,400-ton aircraft carrier, carrying dozens of F18 bombers, together with K2 tanks and A-10 combat jets, was also deployed in the drills.

JAMES MATTIS US DEFENSE SECRETARY "The bottom line is in our effort to always be open about what we're doing we said that we were going to change the Vinson's upcoming schedule. She was on her way up to Korea."

ROH JAE-CHEON SOUTH KOREAN CHIEF OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS IN JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF  "If the DPRK takes provocative action, despite this grave warning our military is sending, we will not hesitate to sternly punish the DPRK to protect our people's lives and property."

The DPRK regards the drills as an invasion rehearsal and has even warned of retaliation.

KRT NEWS READER "As the US imperialists and South Korean puppet forces again kicked off the dangerous nuclear war drills against us, our army will counter them with the toughest counteractions as it had already declared."

Five days after the US-South Korea military drills began on March 6th in 2017, Pyongyang launched four ballistic missiles into the sea between the DPRK and Japan.

DONALD TRUMP US PRESIDENT "I have meetings on North Korea who's acting very, very badly. I will tell you he is acting very, very badly."

However, things have changed dramatically in 2018. First, Kim Jong Un sent his sister Kim Yo-jong to the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. Secondly, the DPRK leader says he wants to meet with the South Korean and US presidents.

MOON JAE-IN SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT "I keep myself open to any meeting including the summit with the DPRK if it's helpful for an improvement in South-North relations or a settlement of the DPRK nuclear issue."

DONALD TRUMP US PRESIDENT "I think North Korea is going to go very well. I think we are going to have a tremendous success."

And for this year's round of drills, the United States has deployed about 11-thousand troops, about half of the previous amount while 290,000 South Koreans are participating. And no aircraft carriers will be involved.

During a meeting with a South Korean delegation in Pyongyang, Kim Jong Un said he understands the situation regarding the joint drills. It seems that all sides have shown gestures of goodwill leading up to anticipated talks between Kim and Moon and a meeting between Kim and Trump. But one lingering issue in the talks is if denuclearization will actually happen.