Seoul claims Trump will suspend military action during Korea nuclear talks

World Today

South Korean President Moon Jae-in held phone talks with his US counterpart Donald Trump one day after inter-Korean talks on Wednesday

Seoul claims U.S. President Donald Trump has promised not to pursue military action of “any kind” while the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea pursue talks on ending Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions.  

A statement from the Blue House reads: “The U.S. President said that it should be made clearly known that while there were inter-Korean talks going on, there would be no military actions taken by the United States.”  The statement concerned Wednesday morning’s phone call between ROK President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump.  Yonhap News Service first reported the statement.

A White House National Security Council spokesperson would only confirm: “The two leaders discussed press reports suggesting the United States was considering imminent, unilateral military actions against North Korea. President Trump assured President Moon that such media speculation was false.”

The White House did confirm that Trump spoke with Moon by phone Wednesday morning. According to a statement released by the White House, “Moon briefed Trump on the outcomes” of the inter-Korea talks, “thanked Trump for his leadership in making the talks possible,” and “underscored the importance of continuing the maximum pressure campaign.”

The White House statement also said Trump expressed an openness to holding talks with the DPRK at the “appropriate time.”

U.S. ANNOUNCES DELEGATION TO ATTEND WINTER OLYMPICS.

The White House also announced that Vice President Mike Pence and Second Lady Karen Pence will lead the presidential delegation to the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. They will attend the opening ceremony on February 9, 2018. Pence is also expected to visit Seoul and Tokyo, Japan to conduct bilateral meetings with leaders. The focus of those talks, according to the White House, will be the Korea nuclear issue. Pence will also travel to Alaska to “review ballistic missile defense facilities.

“The Vice President is traveling to the Olympic Games in South Korea to reinforce the strong U.S. presence on the Korean Peninsula and send a clear message of American resolve to the North Korean regime,” said Jarrod Agen, Deputy Chief off Staff to Vice President Pence.

Further members of the delegation have yet to be announced, but CGTN has confirmed that First Lady Melania Trump will not be attending the Olympics. The Blue House has previously stated that members of the Trump family are expected to make up part of the delegation. That has yet to be confirmed by the White House.