Pyongyang warns nuclear talks at risk if S. Korea-US war games go ahead

Talks on getting North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons are at risk because Washington looks set to break a promise not to hold joint military exercises with Seoul, Pyongyang said on Tuesday.

A North Korean foreign ministry spokesman said the US and South Korea were pressing ahead with exercises code-named Dong Maeng this summer, which he called a “rehearsal for war,” Reuters said.

“We will make a decision regarding working-level talks with the United States while watching US moves going forward,” KCNA quoted the spokesman as saying.

US President Donald Trump said last month he'd agreed with the North’s leader Kim Jong-un to resume working-level talks, stalled since their second summit collapsed in February. The negotiations were expected to resume in the coming weeks. The joint exercises will be held in August.