'Better Than Threats of Nuclear War': Trump Vows to End US War Games After Summit With North Korea's Kim Jong Un

Following four hours of talks behind closed doors with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore on Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced during a press conference that America will halt its “provocative” joint war games with South Korea in return for the North’s commitment to starting the denuclearization process “right away.”

“I believe this is a big prelude to peace,” Kim told reporters on Tuesday. “There will also be big challenges ahead but I’m willing to do this.”

Watch Trump’s announcement:

Beatrice Finn, executive director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, added:

Trump’s decision to suspend military exercises on the Korean Peninsula—which have long been perceived by the North as a simulation of all-out war—was applauded by independent analysts as a crucial step toward lasting peace in the region.

Tim Shorrock, a Korea expert who is in Singapore for the historic summit, called the end of U.S.-South Korea war games a “huge deal.”