N.Korea to suspend talks with Seoul over drills with US

IANS | 16 May 2018 08:49 AM (IST)

The US has not heard anything directly from Pyongyang or Seoul that would change the arrangements, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert was quoted as saying.

(FILES)(COMBO) This combination of file pictures created on May 10, 2018 shows US President Donald Trump during a rally at Total Sports Park in Washington, Michigan on April 28, 2018, and a photo released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on April 21, 2018 of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un delivering a speech while attending the Third Plenary Meeting of the Seventh Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea in Pyongyang. The United States said May 15, 2018 it was moving ahead with preparations for a much-anticipated summit next month between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, after Pyongyang appeared to cast doubt over the event. "We will continue to plan the meeting," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters, adding that Washington had received "no notification" of a position change by North Korea."We have not heard anything from that government or the government of South Korea to indicate we would not continue conducting these exercises or would not continue planning for our meeting between President Trump and Kim Jong Un next month." / AFP PHOTO / AFP PHOTO AND KCNA VIA KNS / Mandel Ngan AND - / - South Korea OUT / REPUBLIC OF KOREA OUT ---EDITORS NOTE--- RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO/KCNA VIA KNS" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS THIS PICTURE WAS MADE AVAILABLE BY A THIRD PARTY. AFP CAN NOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, LOCATION, DATE AND CONTENT OF THIS IMAGE. THIS PHOTO IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY AFP. /

Pyongyang: In view of recent "provocative" acts such as the South Korea-US joint military exercises, North Korea has no choice but to suspend high-level talks with Seoul, KCNA news agency said on Wednesday. It also said the US should think twice about the fate of the planned North Korea-US summit, reports Xinhua. Shortly after the report, the US State Department said it was continuing to prepare for the summit between President Donald Trump and North Korea's top leader Kim Jong Un scheduled for June 12 in Singapore. The US has not heard anything directly from Pyongyang or Seoul that would change the arrangements, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert was quoted as saying. The US side needs to verify the KCNA's report, she said. "We've received no formal or even informal notification of anything." "We've seen some pretty good indications from them so far," she said, citing the the release of three American detainees. "So they have taken some steps in the right direction ... I think those are all good signs." The KCNA said that the "2018 Max Thunder" joint air combat exercise involving over 100 warplanes including "B-52" strategic bombers and "F-22 Raptor" stealth fighters is aimed at launching pre-emptive strikes against North Korea as well as taking control of the airspace.

Tags: Kim Jong-Un north korea