Pentagon weighs future of Korea drills after Trump nixes 'war games'

The U.S. military on Wednesday was looking at ways to ensure American forces in South Korea could still be fully trained and ready, a day after President Donald Trump suspended military exercises in a surprise concession to North Korea.

U.S. officials said it was unclear what types of training involving U.S. and South Korean troops might cross into Trump's now forbidden zone of "war games." But big, joint U.S.-South Korean exercises appeared off-limits under the new guidance.

"Make no mistake, we are going to maintain the readiness of our forces in South Korea," said one U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity. The official acknowledged, however, it was still not certain how that was going to happen.

Trump announced the end to the drills on Tuesday following his historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore, calling exercises expensive and "provocative" - echoing a North Korean criticism that the United States had long rejected.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, speaking to a small group of reporters in Seoul on Wednesday, said Trump was unambiguous that the exercises would be frozen as long as there were productive, good-faith negotiations with Pyongyang.

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