Washington, D.C. – Today, House Armed Services Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA) released the following statement about President Trump’s declaration that the United States intends to halt military exercises on the Korean Peninsula:

“I am concerned that the outcome of President Trump’s summit with Kim Jong Un appears to concede U.S. military readiness in exchange for a vague open-ended denuclearization pledge from North Korea, plus additional talks. The exercises that the United States conducts with allies and partners on and around the Korean Peninsula are invaluable tools for maintaining the readiness to respond to potential North Korean aggression.

“I am also concerned that President Trump apparently suspended exercises without even consulting the government of South Korea and without providing corresponding guidance to United States Forces Korea, the relevant U.S. military command, and that he supported North Korean propaganda by characterizing the exercises, which have always been defensive in nature, as provocative war games. We all want a peaceful resolution to this situation, but that will require more substantial results than President Trump has so far provided.”

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