North Korea said it is suspending “high-level” talks with South Korea scheduled for Wednesday over military drills its southern neighbor has scheduled with the U.S.
It wasn’t clear whether the suspension would have any broader impact on South Korea-North Korea talks or a planned meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump on June 12 in Singapore.
South Korea’s Yonhap New Agency had earlier reported that the two countries planned to send five officials each to talks at the border village of Panmunjom to carry out agreements made last month when Kim met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
The military exercise, known as “Max Thunder,” is a “deliberate military provocation,” according to a statement from KCNA, North Korea’s state-run news agency. The statement went on to say North Korea will watch the “future attitudes of the U.S. And South Korean authorities” closely.