The unification ministry has clarified that foreign affairs and security-related ministries remain in constant, close communication regarding South Korea-U.S. joint military drills amid questions of whether such drills should be adjusted in order to facilitate a North Korea-U.S. summit.
 
On Saturday, Unification Minister Chung Dong-young told reporters that a North Korea-U.S. summit cannot take place if joint South Korea-U.S. military drills continue and that adjustments to the exercises would be “inevitable.”

Ministry spokesperson Yoon Min-ho explained during a briefing on Monday that Chung’s remark had been based on an understanding that Seoul and Washington’s joint drills have serious implications for inter-Korean relations as well as the military situation on the Korean Peninsula.

Yoon stressed that related ministries are in regular communication on the matter and that the annual joint defensive exercises aim to deter war and preserve peace.

This comes after No Kwang-chol, North Korea's defense minister, accused Seoul and Washington of intentionally escalating political and military tensions in the region in response to the annual South Korea-U.S. Security Consultative Meeting as well as the recent arrival of the USS George Washington aircraft carrier and the Fifth Carrier Strike Group in Busan.