US President Donald Trump stuns the Korean Peninsula by announcing the stoppage of US-South Korean annual war games that have long been defended as defensive and vital by the allies.
Trump speaks to reporters after his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, essentially taking the North Korean line on the military exercises, calling them “provocative.”
The 28,500 US troops are stationed in South Korea.
Trump calls the war games “tremendously expensive,” suggesting that South Korea does not contribute enough, and says they would be “inappropriate” as the US and North Korea negotiate a new relationship.
A statement from South Korean President Moon Jae-in says the Trump-Kim summit opens a new era of peace and cooperation. The statement did not address Trump’s comments about the drills.
Seoul’s presidential office tells The Associated Press that it was trying to discern the exact meaning and intent of Trump’s comments.
— AP
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