SEOUL, June 15 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's presidential Blue House said Friday that whether to halt joint annual South Korea-U.S. military exercises will be announced soon as consultations were underway between the two countries.
A senior Blue House official told local reporters on condition of anonymity that although nothing has been decided yet, whether to halt the South Korea-U.S. war games would be announced soon or in the near future through close consultations between Seoul and Washington.
The official said consultations were already launched between Seoul and Washington, noting that the South Korean side will consult with its U.S. counterpart on the issue according to President Moon Jae-in's stance.
Moon said on Thursday that he would carefully review the South Korea-U.S. joint annual military drills if talks between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the United States continue.
Moon's comment came after U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday in Singapore following the first DPRK-U.S. summit that he would stop the U.S. war games with South Korea.
Trump and top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un signed a joint statement, agreeing to complete denuclearization in return for security assurances for Pyongyang.
South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo had a phone conversation Thursday with U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis to closely discuss the issue on whether to suspend the joint war games.
Combined forces of South Korea and the United States have conducted their joint war games, which the DPRK has denounced as a dress rehearsal for northward invasion, twice a year in spring and fall, respectively.