Trump says to end 'expensive', 'provocative' war games with South Korea

US President Donald Trump says the United States was stopping “very provocative” and "very expensive" military exercises with South Korea to facilitate denuclearization negotiations with North Korea.

The United States and South Korea hold regular military drills to the fury of North Korea, which has long seen the drills as preparations to invade it.

“The war games are very expensive, we pay for the majority of them,” Trump told a news conference on Tuesday in Singapore after a historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

“Under the circumstances, that we’re negotiating ... I think it’s inappropriate to be having war games.”

Trump's announcement was a surprise even to the government of South Korean President Moon Jae-in, which worked in recent months to help bring about the Trump-Kim summit.

“We will be stopping the war games which will save us a tremendous amount of money, unless and until we see the future negotiation is not going along like it should. But we’ll be saving a tremendous amount of money, plus I think it’s very provocative,” Trump said.

Pentagon officials were not immediately able to provide any details about Trump’s remarks about suspending military drills, a step the US military has long resisted.

Trump and Kim promised in a joint statement to work toward the “denuclearization” of the Korean Peninsula, and the United States promised its Cold War foe security guarantees.

Following Tuesday’s summit, Trump and Kim signed a document described by the American leader as important and comprehensive.

The document says the US and North Korea “commit to establish [sic] new... relations in accordance with the desire of the peoples of the two countries for peace and prosperity."

North Korea also reaffirmed its commitment to working “towards complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” a broad wording that could mean phased denuclearization in return for a number of potential American commitments along the way.

PressTV-North Korea, US sign document after historic summit

After signing the document with North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un on Singapore’s Sentosa Island, US President Donald Trump said denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula would begin “very quickly.”

Before signing the document, Kim said the two leaders had had a historic meeting “and decided to leave the past behind. The world will see a major change.”

The US president said he had formed a “very special bond” with Kim and that Washington’s relationship with Pyongyang would be very different.

Trump and Kim arrived in Singapore on Sunday to hold the first ever face-to-face meeting between leaders of the two countries, which have remained enemies since the 1950-1953 Korean War.

While the summit is seen as a test for diplomacy that could end the long-running nuclear standoff, foreign policy experts say the stakes are high if it does not result in a nuclear agreement.

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