Pentagon: Trump agrees to delay US-South Korean exercises
WASHINGTON — In a possible opening for diplomacy, the Trump administration on Thursday agreed to delay joint military exercises with South Korea until after the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.
Hours later, the Korea governments agreed to discuss finding ways to co-operate on the Winter Games. Reviving the nations’ first formal dialogue in more than two years was another sign that animosities were easing after months of rising tensions over the North’s nuclear and missile programs.
North Korea accepted the South’s offer to meet at the border village of Panmunjom on Tuesday to discuss Olympic co-operation and how to improve overall ties, South Korea’s Unification Ministry said Friday.
In Washington, Defence Secretary Jim Mattis insisted that delaying joint military exercises was a practical necessity to accommodate the Olympics, not a political gesture. He said the drill would be conducted sometime after the Winter Paralympics, which will be held March 8-18 following the Feb. 9-25 Olympic Games.