GOP senator questions suspension of joint military exercises with South Korea

Sen. Joni Ernst (Iowa), a key Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, is raising questions about President Trump’s decision to suspend joint military exercises with South Korea, something that appeared to surprise military officials.

“I don’t think that’s wise because we have done these exercises for years,” Ernst, who chairs an Armed Services subcommittee, said Tuesday. “I would just ask the president, why do we need to suspend them? They are legal.”

{mosads}U.S. military officials said Tuesday they still plan to conduct a major exercise with South Korean troops in the fall, saying they have not received updated guidance on ending training exercises with the South.

“We will continue with our current military posture until we receive updated guidance from the Department of Defense,” said Lt. Col. Jennifer Lovett, a U.S. military spokesperson in South Korea.

Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (N.Y.) earlier in the day questioned the president trading a concession on legal military exercises in exchange for North Korea freezing its illegal nuclear testing program.

Senate Republican Whip John Cornyn (Texas), however, cautioned that Trump appears to be negotiating in the press and what he says now may not be part of any eventual deal with North Korea.

“The president is negotiating in the press,” he said of Trump’s offer to suspend joint exercises. “My interpretation is he saw that as a demonstration of good faith but certainly this is just the beginning and not the end.”

“I wouldn’t give it too much significance,” he added. 

Trump declared during a press conference after meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises, or “war games,” will stop during negotiations with the North.