North Korea threatens to cancel meeting with Trump over military exercise in South Korea

Kim Jong Un and Moon Jae In.
(Image credit: Korea Summit Press Pool/Getty Images)

North Korea has canceled plans to meet with South Korean officials and threatened to cancel the planned summit between leader Kim Jong Un and President Trump, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported Tuesday.

A cantankerous Kim was reportedly upset about joint military exercises between South Korea and the U.S., which North Korean state media called an "intentional military provocation." High-level officials were scheduled to meet with South Korean leaders on Wednesday in order to plan a declaration stating the promise to end the inter-Korean war and move towards "complete denuclearization," but North Korea said the military "provocation" left the country with no choice but to withdraw.

Trump and Kim have made plans to meet June 12 in Singapore, but North Korea warned the U.S. 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."

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Summer Meza, The Week US

Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.