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South Korea, US to announce suspension of major military drills this week

WION Web Team
New Delhi, Delhi, IndiaUpdated: Jun 17, 2018, 11:20 AM IST
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File photo. Photograph:(Reuters)

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 North Korea failed to keep its promise to denuclearize, news agency Yonhap said on Sunday.

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

Shortly after US President Donald Trump announced the suspension of joint military drills with South Korea, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and his South Korean counterpart, Song Young-moo, discussed the future of the joint military exercise.

Mattis, in a 30-minute "in-depth" telephonic conversation with Young-moo, discussed the results of the historic Trump-Kim Summit held on June 12 in Singapore.

According to reports, Mattis and Song "discussed their mutual support to ongoing diplomatic efforts, to include how we are working together to fulfil the President's guidance on US-ROK (South Korea) combined military exercises," the Pentagon statement noted.

"Both pledged to continue working closely together towards regional peace and stability," the statement added.