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Scope of Drills Unchanged Amid Preparations to Summit With Kim - Pentagon

© AP Photo / Ahn Young-joonSouth Korean army Surion helicopters fire flares during a South Korea-U.S. joint military live-fire drills at Seungjin Fire Training Field in Pocheon, South Korea,
South Korean army Surion helicopters fire flares during a South Korea-U.S. joint military live-fire drills at Seungjin Fire Training Field in Pocheon, South Korea, - Sputnik International
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WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The extent of US-South Korea military drills has not changed amid preparations for the summit between US president Donald trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un next month, Department of Defense spokeswoman Dana White said in a press briefing on Thursday.

"The scope of our exercises has not changed, White told reporters. "I won’t be able to speak to specific details, but our exercises are annual, they’ve been long standing, they’re defensive in nature and they will continue. These are alliance decisions."

Earlier in May, North Korea unilaterally decided to suspend high-level inter-Korean talks over the drills conducted jointly by Washington and Seoul.

READ MORE: Seoul Regrets Pyongyang's Decision to Suspend High Level Inter-Korean Talks

This picture taken by the Republic of Korea Air Force on January 10, 2016 and released via Yonhap news agency shows a US B-52 Stratofortress (bottom R) flying with South Korean F-15K fighter jets (top) and US F-16 fighter jets (bottom L) over South Korea - Sputnik International
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Despite Pyongyang's decision, South Korea vowed to continue military exercises with the US, stressing that the drills were not an attack maneuver.

These developments put the upcoming historic US-DPRK summit into jeopardy, though US President Donald Trump noted that North Korea had not notified the US about the cancellation of the Washington-Pyongyang meeting slated for June 12.

On May 11, the United States and South Korea launched their annual air combat exercise. About 100 aircraft are participating in the drills, which will last until May 25.

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