The United States and South Korea are expected to announce their decision to suspend “large-scale combined military exercises this week,” according to South Korean media.
“The South Korean and U.S. military authorities have been having close consultations over the combined exercises that U.S. President Donald Trump has said he will stop,” a source told Yonhap News Agency. “This week, the South Korean and U.S. defense ministries will jointly announce the results of their discussions.”
The news comes days after a historic meeting between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on June 12, where Trump called the exercises “provocative, inappropriate and expensive.”
The June 12 summit ended with both signing a 400-word document in which Kim promised the “complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula” in return for “security guarantees” from the U.S.
Trump called the annual military exercises by U.S. Forces Korea and the South Korean military “war games.”
According to Yonhap, the announcement will include a “snapback” clause, which means the exercises could resume should North Korea not follow through with its denuclearization commitment.
