US-South Korea war games called off

SOUTH Korea has presented a united front with the US on a decision to call off major joint military drills, a week after Donald Trump’s surprise announcement that he would suspend such exercises with the Asian ally.

Shortly after US and South Korean officials formally announced that the Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercises slated for August had been called off, Seoul’s Defence Ministry said the decision was necessary to aid both countries’ negotiations with North Korea.

“South Korea and the US made the decision as we believe this will contribute to maintaining such momentum,” said Choi Hyun-soo, the ministry spokeswoman.

The announcement was widely anticipated after the US President’s meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last week.

After the summit in Singapore, Mr Trump said he would suspend the US military’s war games with South Korea unless the talks on ending North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme break down.

His statement appeared to catch both South Korea and the Pentagon by surprise, but they presented a united front in cancelling the upcoming exercises.

US Defence Department spokeswoman Dana White said planning for the summer drills had stopped, but no decisions had been made on any other military exercises with South Korea. Joint exercises with Japan and other Pacific countries will continue.

In Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the suspension of US-South Korean drills was a “positive and constructive move”.