North Korea threatens to CANCEL nuclear summit with Trump because it believes 'provocative military ruckus' of joint U.S.-South Korea drills are rehearsal for invasion
- June 12 Singapore summit between Trump and Kim is suddenly in jeopardy
- North Korean government blames joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises
- Pyongyang sees the drills as a rehearsal for a full-scale invasion
- Kim also canceled meeting with South Korea's president on a few hours' notice
North Korea's government says it is considering calling off a planned nuclear summit between dictator Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump.
Kim's regime said through state-run news agency KCNA that ongoing 'Max Thunder' joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea are actually a 'rehearsal for invasion' of the North.
'The United States will also have to undertake careful deliberations about the fate of the planned North Korea-U.S. summit in light of this provocative military ruckus jointly conducted with the South Korean authorities,' KCNA said.
The White House made no immediate moves to slow down preparations for the summit on Tuesday.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders simply said: 'We are aware of the South Korean media report. The United States will look at what North Korea has said independently, and continue to coordinate closely with our allies.'
North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un's government threatened on Wednesday (local time) to call off a planned nuclear summit with President Donald Trump (right)
This photo from 2017 shows a vehicle carrying what appears to be an intercontinental ballistic missile during a military parade at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea
President Trump last week greeted three Americans who were released from North Korea as they returned in the wee hours of the morning to an air case in suburban Maryland
President Trump ignored reporters asking for an update twice on Tuesday as he came and went from the White House to Walter Reed hospital, where his wife was recovering from a benign kidney surgery.
South Korea's Yonhap News Agency had earlier reported that Pyongyang also canceled high-level talks with Seoul, scheduled for later in the day.
The North Koreans cited the military drills as the reason.
The meeting was to happen in the border town of Panmunjom, as a followup to Kim's April meeting with his South Korean counterpart, Moon Jae-In.
The Trump administration has appeared to be making progress in recent weeks toward a new diplomatic framework with the hermit kingdom.
Tempers had cooled following months of belligerence on both sides – Trump called Kim 'Little Rocket Man' and Kim responded by branding him a 'mentally deranged U.S. dotard.'
Last week Secretary of State Mike Pompeo traveled to Pyongyang on a mission to retrieve three Americans held prisoner in the communist nation.
He returned a day later with Kim Dong Chul, Kim Hak-song and Tony Kim on board his government jet. Trump, eager to reap the PR benefit of a public splash, went to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland at 2:00 in the morning to greet them personally.
The prisoner release was seen as a first step toward the planned summit, which Trump announced last week would take place June 12 in Singapore.
The North Korean statement got a jump on the U.S State Department
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5732893/North-Korea-threatens-CANCEL-Trumps-nuclear-summit.html#ixzz5FhqqecZ4
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