North Korea casts doubt on Trump summit, suspends talks with South

By Josh Smith

 

A U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor fighter jet flies over an apartment complex in Gwangju, South Korea, May 16, 2018. Yonhap via REUTERS

 

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea threw into question next month's unprecedented summit between Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump, denouncing on Wednesday U.S.-South Korean military exercises as a provocation and calling off high-level talks with Seoul.

 

A report on North Korea's official KCNA angrily attacked the "Max Thunder" air combat drills, which it said involved U.S. stealth fighters and B-52 bombers, and appeared to mark a break in months of warming ties between North and South Korea and between Pyongyang and Washington.

 

The "Max Thunder" drills, aimed at "boosting the capability of pilots", would go on as planned and were not aimed at attacking a third party, the South's defence ministry said.

 

Any cancellation of the June 12 summit in Singapore, the first meeting between a serving U.S. president and a North Korean leader, would deal a major blow to Trump’s efforts to score the biggest diplomatic achievement of his presidency.

 

Trump has raised expectations for a successful meeting even as many analysts have been sceptical of the chances of bridging the gap due to questions about North Korea's willingness to give up a nuclear arsenal that it says can hit the United States.

 

The KCNA report called the air drills a "provocation" that went against the trend of warming ties.

 

"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," KCNA said, referring to a joint statement from an April 27 inter-Korea summit.

 

"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," KCNA said.

 

WARMING TIES

A Trump-Kim summit until recently had looked impossible given the insults and threats the two leaders exchanged last year over North Korea's development of nuclear missiles capable of hitting the United States.

 

"Kim Jong Un had said previously that he understands the need and the utility of the United States and the Republic of Korea continuing in its joint exercises," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told a briefing.

 

"We have not heard anything from that government or the government of South Korea to indicate that we would not continue conducting these exercises or that we would not continue planning for our meeting between President Trump and Kim Jong Un next month," she said.

 

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said the United States would examine the North Korean statement "and continue to coordinate closely with our allies".

 

South Korea's National Security Office head Chung Eui-yong said after meeting Kim in early March that the North Korean leader understood that "routine" joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States would continue in spite of warming ties.

 

That was widely considered to be a major North Korea concession, although Pyongyang never publicly withdrew its long-standing demand for an end to the drills.

 

Kim's latest move could be aimed at testing Trump's willingness to make concessions ahead of the summit, which is due to be preceded by a visit to Washington next week by South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

 

A U.S. government expert on North Korea said Kim may also be trying to gauge whether Trump is willing to walk away from the meeting that has prompted the president's supporters to suggest he deserves to win a Nobel Peace Prize.

 

Any acquiescence by Trump to a North Korean demand for a halt to joint drills would likely undermine South Korean and Japanese trust in his commitment to their security. Kim has also shown a desire to win international approval for his diplomatic outreach, and any sign that he is sabotaging the talks could damage this effort.

 

SUSPENDED NORTH-SOUTH MEETING

KCNA said North Korea was suspending a ministerial-level North-South meeting, which had been due to be held on Wednesday to focus on plans to implement the inter-Korea summit declaration, including promises to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War and pursue "complete denuclearisation".

 

"The U.S. should make efforts to create an atmosphere for mutual respect and confidence before dialogue, not resorting to a foolish farce that may reverse the good trend created with much effort," it said.

 

South Korea said the North's decision to unilaterally postpone the talks was "regrettable".

 

"Such action of the North is inconsistent with the fundamental spirit and purpose of the Panmunjeom Declaration agreed by the South and North leaders on April 27," the South's Unification Ministry spokesman Baik Tae-hyun said.

 

The Pentagon said the May 14-25 "Max Thunder" exercises were routine and defensive in nature. A spokesman said the exercises would take place at Gwangju air base and would be "at a scale similar to that of the previous years".

 

Last year, Max Thunder involved about 1,500 U.S. and South Korean personnel flying aircraft including F-16 fighter jets, according to a U.S. Air Force website.

 

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday the United States would agree to lift sanctions on North Korea if it agreed to completely dismantle its nuclear weapons programme, a move he said would create economic prosperity that would rival that of South Korea.

 

North Korea said on Saturday it would dismantle its nuclear bomb test site some time between May 23 and May 25 to uphold its pledge to cease tests.

 

Joshua Pollack, of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in California, said Pyongyang appeared irritated by the U.S. administration's vow to maintain sanctions in spite of North Korean concessions.

 

"The North Koreans want a change in tone from the U.S., and at least so far, they're not hearing one," he said.

 

A South Korean presidential adviser warned on Tuesday that an incremental North Korean approach to denuclearisation would not be acceptable to Trump or the South Korean public.

 

Bonnie Glaser, of Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, said Kim may be being influenced by Chinese President Xi Jinping after two recent meetings with the Chinese leader, who has advocated a freeze in North Korea's nuclear programme in return for a freeze in U.S.-South Korean drills.

 

"The fact this issue is back on the table suggests Xi Jinping may have raised it with Kim, and that Kim is carrying Xi’s water," she said.

 

(Reporting by Josh Smith; Additional reporting by Christine Kim in SEOUL, and David Brunnstrom, Phillip Stewart, Tim Ahmann, Matt Spetalnick and Lesley Wroughton in WASHINGTON; Writing by David Brunnstrom; Editing by Alistair Bell, James Dalgleish, Lincoln Feast and Paul Tait)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-05-16

Frigging American military. They are just to stupid to know when to easy off. Quite the show of lack of good faith . Bully.bully ,bully that is all they know . Maybe they will wake up when Kim sends a nuclear war head to visit.

8 minutes ago, lovelomsak said:

Frigging American military. They are just to stupid to know when to easy off. Quite the show of lack of good faith . Bully.bully ,bully that is all they know . Maybe they will wake up when Kim sends a nuclear war head to visit.

And who is the Commander-in-Chief of that military?

 

"Nobody knew foreign policy could be so complicated" 

Lets not get to excited Trump haters, very good chance this report by unknown sources, might not be real accurate. Could be pure speculation, or outright fake news. Lets just wait and see what happens next month or at the very least something more credible, with names, sources ect ect. They way news reporting used to be.

If the fat boy really want peace, he wouldn't mind those exercises from taking place, but the brats and tyrants die hard, and so, even if there will be a ' peace treaty' i wouldn't break out the kristal champaign yet and trash my nukes to the garbage...

North Korea pardons three prisoners and returns them to the U.S.  It then starts to dismantle its testing site and what does Trump do to reward these initiatives, he starts another war game.

33 minutes ago, Topdoc said:

North Korea pardons three prisoners and returns them to the U.S.  It then starts to dismantle its testing site and what does Trump do to reward these initiatives, he starts another war game.

It may not be Trumps doing . The 2 sides are still are war technically. Since they are at war the military over rides the president. This is probably a sabotage of the talks by some one in the military who does not want Trump to end it. All at the cost of other people and nations. Some  Trump hater not knowing the limits.

Taken for a ride again..

Posts containing Twitter links have been removed.   

2 hours ago, dcutman said:

Lets not get to excited Trump haters, very good chance this report by unknown sources, might not be real accurate. Could be pure speculation, or outright fake news. Lets just wait and see what happens next month or at the very least something more credible, with names, sources ect ect. They way news reporting used to be.

So are you saying that the following quote is possibly fabricated?

 

"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," KCNA said, referring to a joint statement from an April 27 inter-Korea summit.

 

"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," KCNA said."

 

Or is your "fake news" reflex (reflux?) just acting up?

Edited May 16, 20188 yr by bristolboy

I am sure Kim's intentions were never honorable to start with. 

58 minutes ago, lovelomsak said:

It may not be Trumps doing . The 2 sides are still are war technically. Since they are at war the military over rides the president. This is probably a sabotage of the talks by some one in the military who does not want Trump to end it. All at the cost of other people and nations. Some  Trump hater not knowing the limits.

Are you claiming Trump is not in control of his Armed Forces?

26 minutes ago, simple1 said:

Are you claiming Trump is not in control of his Armed Forces?

Trump is not in even control of the kindergarten that is the WH.

Oh No! What about that Nobel Peace Prize? One wonders what the WH will do to make sure the summit happens one way or another? Will they tell the military to halt the exercise to appease the fat one? Damn, and to think that Nobel was so close at hand.

 

The world is now watching to see how the "Art of the Deal" Reality TV President handles this situation. Will he play tough or will he backpedal?

 

3 hours ago, dcutman said:

Lets not get to excited Trump haters, very good chance this report by unknown sources, might not be real accurate. Could be pure speculation, or outright fake news. Lets just wait and see what happens next month or at the very least something more credible, with names, sources ect ect. They way news reporting used to be.

Unknown sources?

 

4 hours ago, webfact said:

A report on North Korea's official KCNA angrily attacked the "Max Thunder" air combat drills, which it said involved U.S. stealth fighters and B-52 bombers, and appeared to mark a break in months of warming ties between North and South Korea and between Pyongyang and Washington.

 

4 hours ago, webfact said:

SUSPENDED NORTH-SOUTH MEETING

KCNA said North Korea was suspending a ministerial-level North-South meeting, which had been due to be held on Wednesday to focus on plans to implement the inter-Korea summit declaration, including promises to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War and pursue "complete denuclearisation".

 

"The U.S. should make efforts to create an atmosphere for mutual respect and confidence before dialogue, not resorting to a foolish farce that may reverse the good trend created with much effort," it said.

 

4 hours ago, webfact said:

South Korea said the North's decision to unilaterally postpone the talks was "regrettable".

 

"Such action of the North is inconsistent with the fundamental spirit and purpose of the Panmunjeom Declaration agreed by the South and North leaders on April 27," the South's Unification Ministry spokesman Baik Tae-hyun said.

 

 

Nuclear Physics 101

 

Q. On the included map of the Pacific Ocean please mark where Guam used to be.

Oh dear.

 

Another....."surprise".

 

 

Edited May 16, 20188 yr by Enoon

Some folks here apparently aren't bothering to actually read the details of the OP news report.

 

--It wasn't based on unnamed sources, but rather, in a NK government statement issued thru their propaganda news agency.

 

--The joint US-SK military exercises in question are an annual one, and at least according to the SK government official and U.S. State Dept spokeswoman quoted in the article, NK was aware the scheduled exercise was going to go on and previously didn't have any complaint over that.

 

--It's always been understand by most observers that there was always a possibility that NK's recent trend toward dialog and resolution was merely a political posturing to buy time and/or to try to create division among its opponents -- the U.S., S.K., and others. And that Kim never was actually willing to denuclearize his country.

 

Whether that is the case or not remains to be seen. But either way, it seems pretty far-fetched to portray the joint military exercises issue as war-mongering or a provocation by the U.S., S.K., Trump or anyone else.

Edited May 16, 20188 yr by TallGuyJohninBKK

4 hours ago, dcutman said:

Lets not get to excited Trump haters, very good chance this report by unknown sources, might not be real accurate. Could be pure speculation, or outright fake news. Lets just wait and see what happens next month or at the very least something more credible, with names, sources ect ect. They way news reporting used to be.

You could be right but it look's to me that Kim is just playing Trump like a yoyo.  Been waiting for this from the start so no surprise really.  Just after Trump praises Kim to high heaven.  Laughable but not exactly funny.  All news channels are carrying it so not much chance of it being fake news.  

4 hours ago, ezzra said:

If the fat boy really want peace, he wouldn't mind those exercises from taking place, but the brats and tyrants die hard, and so, even if there will be a ' peace treaty' i wouldn't break out the kristal champaign yet and trash my nukes to the garbage...

 If the other fat boy really wanted peace he would suspend those exercises for a couple of months.

 

5 hours ago, lovelomsak said:

Frigging American military. They are just to stupid to know when to easy off. Quite the show of lack of good faith . Bully.bully ,bully that is all they know . Maybe they will wake up when Kim sends a nuclear war head to visit.

 

You think pandering to a lunatic bully like Kim is the answer? These exercises were arranged and known about. Kim is a dictator, from a family dynasty of dictators. If you give in to him all the time he'll demand more and more until he rules.

 

They should have boxed clever; maybe inviting NK to send observers.

 

Kim won't send diddly squat. China won't let him. They want the US off the peninsular so they can dominate. They don't want a war, and certainly not a nuclear one.

4 minutes ago, sirineou said:

 If the other fat boy really wanted peace he would suspend those exercises for a couple of months.

 

 

Why?

1 minute ago, Baerboxer said:

 

Why?

as a show of good faith 

1 hour ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Some folks here apparently aren't bothering to actually read the details of the OP news report.

 

--It wasn't based on unnamed sources, but rather, in a NK government statement issued thru their propaganda news agency.

 

--The joint US-SK military exercises in question are an annual one, and at least according to the SK government official and U.S. State Dept spokeswoman quoted in the article, NK was aware the scheduled exercise was going to go on and previously didn't have any complaint over that.

 

--It's always been understand by most observers that there was always a possibility that NK's recent trend toward dialog and resolution was merely a political posturing to buy time and/or to try to create division among its opponents -- the U.S., S.K., and others. And that Kim never was actually willing to denuclearize his country.

 

Whether that is the case or not remains to be seen. But either way, it seems pretty far-fetched to portray the joint military exercises issue as war-mongering or a provocation by the U.S., S.K., Trump or anyone else.

 

The Trump haters will simply use it as an excuse to attack and blame Trump. The US haters will blame and insult the US military. 

 

Balanced people who hate no one will agree with your balanced post!

1 minute ago, sirineou said:

as a show of good faith 

 

The NK leader knew of these annual planned exercises for sometime and never raised it as an issue before.

 

 

I think Kim will agree to no further testing and probably for the de-nuclearizing of the Korean peninsula.  That should be enough for the Chinese and South Koreans and they are the ones Kim is concentrating on.  Trump blustering about what he wants is not going to cut any ice.  Of course time will tell but as I said before, none of this is a big surprise.

5 minutes ago, Baerboxer said:

 

You think pandering to a lunatic bully like Kim is the answer? These exercises were arranged and known about. Kim is a dictator, from a family dynasty of dictators. If you give in to him all the time he'll demand more and more until he rules.

 

They should have boxed clever; maybe inviting NK to send observers.

 

Kim won't send diddly squat. China won't let him. They want the US off the peninsular so they can dominate. They don't want a war, and certainly not a nuclear one.

You think it would have being a clever move to stage a show of force military exercise and invite your opponent to observe it  before meeting for negotiations where you want to stop NK for developing nuclear defencive measures ?  Don't you think such show of force would make the NK think they need more nuclear weapons? 

 

 

 You want your opponent to disarm, while you show him  how you could kill him

Another Idiotic move by Trump.

He should have postponed those exercises for a couple of months as a show of good faith.Then if the negotiations did not go well, have the exercises. 

12 minutes ago, Baerboxer said:

 

The NK leader knew of these annual planned exercises for sometime and never raised it as an issue before.

 

 

N.K. statement from 01/2018...

 

North Korean state media KCNA released a statement from the country's permanent representative to the UN saying any new military drills would harm relations with Seoul.

"If the US truly wishes for the improvement of the North-South ties and has a willingness to provide a peaceful environment on the peninsula, it should completely halt the joint military exercises, not just postponing them," the KCNA statement said.

 

One would assume similar statements have been made recently behind closed doors.