*By Christian Smith*
South Koreans responded with a mix of optimism and worry Tuesday after President Trump announced he would suspend joint military exercises with South Korea as Kim Jong-un considers how to dismantle North Korea's nuclear arsenal.
President Moon Jae-In of South Korea [watched on TV and smiled](https://www.facebook.com/KoreaClickers/photos/rpp.181274814520/10156484091904521/?type=3&theater) as the American president and the North Korean leader met in Singapore. But Trump's unexpected announcement that he would stop joint military drills made some of America's allies in South Korea uneasy, according to Martyn Williams, editor at NorthKoreaTech.org.
"The right wing in South Korea is already not very pleased with these military drills stopping taking place," Williams said in an interview with Cheddar.
The president's statement, which appeared to be an off-the-cuff comment in a discussion with reporters after his meeting with Kim, was not part of the joint statement signed by the two leaders. The United States and South Korea conduct regular war games to prepare for the possibility of a conflict with North Korea, and there are about 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea.
Trump had said he hoped to strike a deal with Kim to eliminate North Korea's nuclear program, and touted the "very comprehensive" statement the leaders agreed to at the summit. But Williams said denuclearization will take more negotiations.
"I think it was a good first step, but what comes next is the most important thing," Williams said.
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/the-winners-and-losers-of-the-north-korea-summit).
From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, these are the top stories that moved markets and had investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs talking this week on Cheddar.
A U.S. health panel says it’s time to resume use of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine, despite a very rare risk of blood clots.
A growing coalition of private companies, nonprofits, and the federal government are pushing for a more unified approach towards COVID vaccination credentialing.
Republican Caitlyn Jenner says she will run for governor of California. Jenner says in statement posted Friday on Twitter that she has filed initial paperwork to run.
World leaders have joined President Joe Biden at a virtual climate summit to share their stories about how nations can break free of climate-damaging fossil fuels.
Phillippe and Ashlan Cousteau, co-authors of "Oceans for Dummies," joined Cheddar to discuss the outsized impact the Earth's seas have on the climate crisis.
A decades long-movement to reshape the American political map has taken an important further step.
NYC legalized recreational adult use marijuana but before the industry settles in, we're taking on to an underground NYC dinner party where the food is infused with cannabis. Cheddar's Chloe Aiello reports.
The leaders of Russia and China have put aside their raw-worded disputes with U.S. President Joe Biden long enough to pledge international cooperation on cutting climate-wrecking coal and petroleum emissions.
President Joe Biden is preparing to formally acknowledge that the systematic killing and deportation of hundreds of thousands of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire in modern-day Turkey more than a century ago was genocide.
Load More