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N Korea cancels talks with South Korea and warns US | N Korea cancels talks with South Korea and warns US |
(35 minutes later) | |
North Korea has cancelled Wednesday's high-level talks with South Korea because of anger over its joint military exercises with the US. | |
The North's official KCNA news agency said the exercises were a "provocation" and a rehearsal for an invasion. | |
It also warned the US over the fate of the historic summit between Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump that is scheduled for 12 June. | It also warned the US over the fate of the historic summit between Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump that is scheduled for 12 June. |
In March, Mr Trump stunned the world by accepting an invitation to meet Mr Kim. | In March, Mr Trump stunned the world by accepting an invitation to meet Mr Kim. |
"We will both try to make it a very special moment for World Peace!" the US leader tweeted at the time. | "We will both try to make it a very special moment for World Peace!" the US leader tweeted at the time. |
The US State Department said it was continuing to prepare for the Trump-Kim summit in Singapore and that it was not aware of any changes in the North Korean position. | |
Some 100 warplanes, including an unspecified number of B-52 bombers and F-15K jets, began the Max Thunder drills on Friday. | |
The US and South Korea have always insisted such drills are purely for defence purposes, and based out of a mutual defence agreement they signed in 1953. | |
They also say the exercises are necessary to strengthen their readiness in case of an external attack. | They also say the exercises are necessary to strengthen their readiness in case of an external attack. |
The talks with South Korea that had been scheduled for Wednesday were agreed earlier this week. | |
They were to take place at Panmunjom, a military compound in the demilitarised zone between the two countries. | |
Representatives from both countries had planned to discuss follow-up measures on agreements they had made at a rare summit on 27 April. | |
The North's Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in of South Korea agreed to work to rid the peninsula of nuclear weapons following the talks. | |
They also agreed to push towards turning the armistice that ended the Korean War in 1953 into a peace treaty this year. | |
Other points the leaders agreed in a joint statement were: |