S. Korea, US may announce suspension of major military drills this week

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01:55

South Korea and the United States are expected to announce the suspension of "large-scale" military drills this week, with the provision that they would restart if the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) failed to keep its promise to denuclearize, Yonhap said on Sunday.

Citing an unnamed Republic of Korea (ROK) government source, the South Korean news agency said the suspension was likely to affect only major joint exercises, not more routine military training.

"The ROK and US military authorities have been having close consultations over the combined exercises that US President Donald Trump has said he will stop," a source said on condition of anonymity.

This file photo taken on April 26, 2017 shows South Korean K1A2 tanks firing live rounds during a joint live firing drill between the ROK and the US at the Seungjin Fire Training Field in Pocheon, 65 kms northeast of Seoul. /VCG Photo

"This week, the ROK and the US defense ministries will jointly announce the results of their discussions," the source added.

US President Donald Trump surprised officials in Seoul and Washington when he pledged to end "war games" after his summit with the DPRK's leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore last week.

Immediately after the announcement, US forces in Korea said they had received no guidance on stopping any drills, and ROK officials said they were trying to figure out which exercises Trump was referring to.

ROK President Moon Jae-in holds talks with US President Donald Trump via phone in Seoul, June 12, 2018. /VCG Photo

However, in a sign Seoul may be open to suspending drills, the ROK President Moon Jae-in said on Thursday his government would need to be flexible when it came to applying military pressure on the DPRK if it was sincere about denuclearization.

Moon said that the ROK would carefully consider joint military drills with the United States and he asked his officials to cooperate with the United States on the issue, his office said in a statement at the time.

The US-ROK exercise calendar hits a high point every year with the Foal Eagle and Max Thunder drills, which both wrapped up last month.

The next major drill, Ulchi Freedom Guardian, is planned for the end of the summer.