*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).
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds is urging lawmakers in Washington to ratify the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which she says will help bring stability to her state’s agriculture industry.
Twitter will begin posting notices on tweets from social media savvy politicians that break the platform’s rules but are in the public’s interest, the company announced Thursday.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Thursday, June 27, 2019.
The 2020 presidential hopefuls agreed that despite recent positive signs in the U.S. economy, not all Americans have benefited from the boom equally.
Democratic candidates were asked about the climate crisis during the first presidential primary debates on Wednesday and Thursday in Miami, a city that is currently experiencing its hottest week in more than three decades.
Julián Castro, 2020 presidential hopeful, believes the deaths of Andrés Manuel Lopez Óbrador and his 23-month-old daughter Valeria, were avoidable if not for a Trump policy that limits the number of asylum seekers per day
San Francisco's board of supervisors has voted a final time to effectively ban the sale of e-cigarettes in the city until the products are reviewed and approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Wednesday, June 29, 2019.
As immigration officials return unaccompanied minors to a controversial Border Patrol facility, Deputy Secretary of the HHS Eric Hargan tells Cheddar, "We are running out of money in our program, and we really need to get the money so that we can provide services for these children."
As the recent push to legalize recreational cannabis in the Empire State failed in the legislature, state Sen. Diane Savino is putting forward the approach of expanding New York's medical marijuana program in order to further normalize the issue.
Load More