*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).
Activists protesting corporate profits, environmental abuses, poor working conditions and the Israel-Hamas war marched in downtown San Francisco on Sunday, united in their opposition to a global trade summit that will draw President Joe Biden and leaders from nearly two dozen countries.
U.S. officials say that five U.S. servicepeople were killed when a military helicopter crashed over the eastern Mediterranean Sea during a training mission.
FBI agents seized phones and an iPad from New York City Mayor Eric Adams this week as part of an investigation into his campaign fundraising, his attorney confirmed Friday.
A man was arrested early Friday in the alleged assault of former U.S. Sen. Martha McSally, who says she was molested as she jogged along the Missouri River in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet Wednesday in California for talks on trade, Taiwan and managing fraught U.S.-Chinese relations in the first engagement between the leaders of the world's two biggest economies in a year.
a phrase about the space in between, “from the river to the sea,” has become a battle cry with new power to roil Jews and pro-Palestinian activists in the aftermath of Hamas' deadly rampage across southern Israel Oct. 7 and Israel's bombardment of the Gaza Strip.
Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia announced Thursday that he won’t seek reelection in 2024, giving Republicans a prime opportunity to pick up a seat in the heavily GOP state.
