U.S.-ROK military exercise to proceed, says ROK official

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A top official of the Republic of Korea (ROK) on Saturday said a U.S.-ROK military exercise would go ahead as planned next month, denying Pyongyang's charges that holding it would breach an agreement made between U.S. President Donald Trump and Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) leader Kim Jong Un.

"The nature of the exercise is not offensive ... and is for strengthening the alliance," Choi Jong-kun, the secretary for peace planning to ROK President Moon Jae-in, told the Aspen Institute's annual strategic forum.

Choi told Reuters that the exercise would largely involve computer simulations and not troops in the field.

Pompeo rejects DPRK charges on military drills

The DPRK on Tuesday warned that the military drills between the U.S. and ROK to be held next month "will affect" proposed working-level nuclear talks between Pyongyang and Washington, said the spokesman for the DPRK's Foreign Ministry.

U.S. President Donald J. Trump (R) walks with ROK President Moon Jae-in from Freedom House toward the military demarcation line, at the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), June 30, 2019. /VCG Photo

According to the spokesman, Trump had reaffirmed in a meeting with Kim last month that joint exercises would be halted. The U.S. decision to proceed with them was "clearly a breach" of the leaders' agreements made at a summit in Singapore last year, he said, warning that proceeding with war games was jeopardizing Pyongyang's resumption of nuclear talks with the United States.

The ministry also said Washington's pattern of "unilaterally reneging on its commitments" was leading Pyongyang to reconsider its commitment to discontinue tests of nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles.

DPRK's charge was rejected by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who claimed that "we're doing exactly what President Trump promised Chairman Kim. We would do with respect to those exercises."

"I think we're going to – we'll get that right. I'm confident that these conversations are going to continue," Pompeo said, adding that the U.S. is ready to start working-level talks with the DPRK as both sides agreed to last month.

(With input from Reuters)

(Cover: U.S. soldiers take part in a U.S.-ROK joint river-crossing exercise near the demilitarized zone (DMZ) in Yeoncheon, ROK, April 8, 2016. /Reuters Photo)