WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and South Korea have agreed to indefinitely suspend two exchange programme training exercises, the Pentagon said on Friday, in the aftermath of the summit earlier this month between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. "To support implementing the outcomes of the Singapore Summit and in coordination with senior South Korean officials, Defence Secretary James N. Mattis has indefinitely suspended select military exercises on the Korean Peninsula," chief Pentagon spokesperson Dana W. White said in a statement on Friday, Efe news reported. The Korean Marine Exchange Program training exercises are part of the Okinawa-based III Marine Expeditionary Force’s “dedicated effort to learning and sharing tactics” with South Korean Marine Corps, according to the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. There could be additional measures should North Korea follow suit with productive cooperation.â€

At a news conference after the meeting with Kim in Singapore, Trump announced that he would halt what he called â€œvery provocativeâ€ and expensive regular military exercises that the United States holds with South Korea. The Pentagon said Monday that planning has been halted on the August drill but no decisions have been made on any other military exercises with South Korea. Last year, 17,500 American troops and more than 50,000 South Korean troops joined the Freedom Guardian drills, although the exercise is mostly focused on computerized simulations rather than field exercises. The decision was reached after Mattis, Pompeo, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joe Dunford, and national security adviser John Bolton met to discuss efforts to implement the results of the Singapore meeting, the statement added. “In support of upcoming diplomatic negotiations led by Secretary Pompeo, additional decisions will depend upon the DPRK continuing to have productive negotiations in good faith,” the statement said, using the acronym for the North’s formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The spring maneuvers — actually two overlapping exercises called Key Resolve and Foal Eagle — include live-fire drills with tanks, aircraft and warships. Moon Seong Mook, a former South Korean military official, calls the joint drills and the U.S. troops stationed in South Korea the core of the alliance between the two countries.
The Pentagon announces the suspension of joint military exercises with South Korea, including the Ulchi-Freedom Guardian and marine training exercises.