U.S.-South Korea must not go for military exercises for meaningful nuclear talks: N. Korea

SEOUL/WASHINGTON: The United States looks set to break a promise not to hold military exercises with South Korea, putting talks aimed at getting North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons at risk, the North Korean Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday. U.S. President Donald Trump, who said he agreed to a resumption of stalled working-level talks with North Korea in a surprise meeting with its leader Kim Jong Un last month, appeared unperturbed, reiterating that he did not feel pressed to conclude a quick deal. Earlier, North Korea’s Foreign Ministry said Washington’s pattern of “unilaterally reneging on its commitments” was leading Pyongyang to reconsider its own commitments to discontinue tests of nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles. “Our discontinuation of the nuclear and ICBM tests and the U.S. suspension of joint military exercises are, to all its intents and purposes, commitments made to improve bilateral relations. They are not a legal document inscribed on a paper,” it said. In another statement carried by the state news agency KCNA, a foreign ministry spokesman accused Washington and Seoul of pressing ahead with the Dong Maeng military drills this summer, and called them a “rehearsal of war.” “We will formulate our decision on the opening of … working-level talks, while keeping watch over the U.S. move hereafter,” the spokesman said. A spokesman for the U.S. Defense Department said South Korea and the United States were preparing to conduct a “routine” combined training program but suggested the drills had been scaled back to facilitate diplomacy. “Working with (South Korea), this training program has been adjusted to maintain readiness and support diplomatic efforts,” Lieutenant Colonel Dave Eastburn said. (Agencies)