The United States has rejected a proposal from Russia and China that Washington should suspend joint military drills with Seoul in exchange for Pyongyang halting missile tests and nuclear weapons programs.
US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert made the announcement at a regular briefing on Thursday, after Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin met at the Kremlin earlier in the week and made the so-called “freeze-for-freeze” proposal to reduce tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
“These are all things that have taken place since the 1950s. So that wouldn’t change,” Nauert said at the briefing, describing the military exercises as lawful and longstanding.
“There’s no equivalency between the United States and its activities and actions that it undertakes with its allies, including South Korea and also Japan. These are something that are lawful,” she added.
