North Korea threatened to call off next month’s historic summit with President Trump and has canceled discussions with South Korea scheduled to take place Wednesday, according to South Korean media.
North Korea canceled the talks with South Korea due to ongoing military drills between the U.S. and South Korean militaries, Yonhap News Service reported. Officials from the two Koreas were expected to continue discussions following a meeting between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un last month.
Citing North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency, Yonhap reported that the North believed the drills were in preparation for an invasion.
“This exercise targeting us, which is being carried out across South Korea, is a flagrant challenge to the Panmunjom Declaration and an intentional military provocation running counter to the positive political development on the Korean Peninsula,” the report from KCNA said, according to Yonhap. “The United States will also have to undertake careful deliberations about the fate of the planned North Korea-U.S. summit in light of this provocative military ruckus jointly conducted with the South Korean authorities.”
The U.S. and South Korea just began a spring exercise on the peninsula called Max Thunder, which focuses on air power, Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Chris Logan said.
The Pentagon had no immediate comment on the reports that North Korea broke off communications with the South and threatened to withdraw from the summit with Trump.
Trump is expected to meet with Kim June 12 in Singapore.
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North Korea threatens to cancel Trump-Kim summit over US military exercise: Report https://t.co/vxdnsyqg6r pic.twitter.com/1hIAmFr8Tr
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) May 15, 2018
Carrot and stick. They've got Trump hooked. They've been keeping him sweet on the summit. Now they're gonna see how hooked he really is. https://t.co/1OLqx7G1gH
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) May 15, 2018
Per @Kevinliptakcnn: The White House was caught off guard by the warning from North Korea about military drills, according to aides. One official affirms the State Department's assertion they've received no information from Pyongyang about the status of the talks.
— Zachary Cohen (@ZcohenCNN) May 15, 2018
They're waiting for Trump to fire off a tweet before they push. Cost to NK: zero. If he cancels, great. If not, they say: we'll work it out. It's like a free bet at the casino. https://t.co/10m5Zkkdhd
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) May 15, 2018
Worth noting that this meeting also just happened: https://t.co/EaEQZrmAlg
— Zachary Cohen (@ZcohenCNN) May 15, 2018
My guess: Trump doesn't cave (entirely) on US-ROK exercises, and NK doesn't cancel the summit. They're just testing him. They both want this summit, but the Norks are testing the limits.
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) May 15, 2018
I still think they're jerking Trump's chain to see how far he'll go to get the summit he's now stupidly committed himself to. https://t.co/vKx8SQLc6z
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) May 15, 2018
The Nobel people better hold onto that Peace Prize a little while longer.
BREAKING: KCNA says North Korea will "reconsider" summit with Trump if U.S. insists on it giving up nuclear program, says it will never give up its nuclear program in exchange for economic trade with the United States
— Josh Smith (@joshjonsmith) May 16, 2018
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