Joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises scheduled for next month are going ahead, a top Seoul official said Saturday, despite a threat by North Korea to boycott working-level talks with Washington and possibly restart nuclear and longer-range missile tests.
"As far as I know, President (Donald) Trump did not promise the cancellation of this upcoming joint military exercise," Choi Jong-kun, secretary for peace planning to South Korean President Moon Jae-in, said at the Aspen Institute's annual strategic forum, according to a video of the event. "If he had ever done that ... we would have (been) consulted and organized it and used it very strategically."
North Korea hinted Tuesday that long-stalled working-level nuclear talks with the U.S. due to be restarted soon could be halted if the U.S. goes ahead with the planned 19-2 Dong Maeng (alliance) exercise scheduled to take place in August.