By Guy Taylor – The Washington Times
North Korea has suddenly canceled high-level talks with South Korea that were planned for Wednesday and threatened to pull out of the upcoming summit with President Trump amid frustration in Pyongyang over ongoing joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises, according to report in Seoul.
South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported that the North’s main state-controlled media outlet, the KCNA, announced that the annual “Max Thunder” joint drills underway between the South Korean and U.S. air forces are a rehearsal for an invasion of the North and a provocation.
Yonhap issued a separate news bulletin that the North had also threatened to “cancel the U.S. summit,” an apparent reference to the June 12 meeting slated to occur between Mr. Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore, because of the ongoing drills.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said of the report, “The United States will look at what North Korea has said independently, and continue to coordinate closely with our allies.” She did not elaborate.
President Trump didn’t respond to reporters’ shouted questions about the fate of the North Korea summit as he left the White House late Tuesday afternoon.
State Department officials responded cautiously, with department spokeswoman Heather Nauert telling reporters