Exercise Suspended / KBS뉴스(News)

[Anchor Lead] A massive joint military exercise involving South Korea and the U.S. will not take place as planned this August. Seoul and Washington have announced that they will suspend the Ulchi Freedom Guardian drills as the allies pursue denuclearization talks with North Korea. [Pkg] The national defense officials of South Korea and the United States have decided to temporarily suspend the Ulchi Freedom Guardian military exercise that was initially slated for August. In doing so, Seoul and Washington apparently want to make sure that the denuclearization talks between the United States and North Korea proceed smoothly. Seoul and Washington have agreed to halt the annual exercise and continue discussions of additional measures. Sources said that the two countries originally considered halting all three major military exercises aimed at protecting the region from North Korea's attacks, but only Ulchi Freedom Guardian will be suspended for now. The other two exercises are Key Resolve and Foal Eagle. North Korea has been demanding the suspension of the South Korea-U.S. joint military drills all along, calling them an attempt to invade the North. Earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump said he proposed that the so-called war games be halted as long as the talks between Washington and Pyongyang continue. However, he added that the drills would be resumed immediately should the talks break down.