South Korea and the United States are expected to announce their decision to suspend joint military exercises this week, while talks with North Korea continue.
The declaration is likely to include a “snapback” clause. It means exercises could resume if North Korea fails to deliver on its denuclearisation commitment, as per Yonhap.
US President Donald Trump on June 12, after his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had said, that the US would halt war games with South Korea.
However, he did not mention when the suspension would kick in.
S Korea and the US have been conducting combined routine training for years to prepare for a possible attack from the North, as per the Strait Times.
“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. This week, the South Korean and U.S. defense ministries will jointly announce the results of their discussions,” Yonhap quoted a source.
Seoul and Washington cancelled their “Team Spirit” exercise, amid dialogue with the North in 1992. The exercises then resumed the following year.
Trump and Kim, earlier this week signed a joint agreement, according to which Kim committed to ‘complete denuclearisation of Korean Peninsula’ a while Trump pledged ‘security guarantees’ to the North.
