US President Donald Trump has said that there was no reason to resume war games with South Korea. He had hailed his friendship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Wednesday before making the statement.
Just days before, he had cancelled a planned visit by Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State, to North Korea.
Trump’s statement came a day after his defense secretary hinted that the drills, which North Korea denounces as rehearsals for invasion, could resume.
Trump tweeted a White House statement in which he once again questioned China’s role in helping to resolve the crisis over North Korea’s development of nuclear weapons that threaten the United States.
The statement said Trump believed North Korea was under “tremendous pressure” from China, but Beijing was also supplying Pyongyang with “considerable aid,” including fuel, fertilizer and commodities.
“This is not helpful!” the statement said. “Nonetheless, the President believes that his relationship with Kim Jong Un is a very good and warm one, and there is no reason at this time to be spending large amounts of money on joint U.S.-South Korea war games,” it added.