The nominee for U.S. ambassador to South Korea has expressed his support for President Donald Trump's decision to suspend joint military exercises between Washington and Seoul. 

Recently retired admiral Harry Harris defended Trump's decision on Thursday during his nomination hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

He said that although he spoke very strongly about the need to continue military exercises previously, the whole landscape has shifted following the U.S.-North Korea summit.

He said that the U.S. should give major exercises a pause to see if North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is in fact serious about his part of the negotiations, adding regular training and readiness and service-related exercises would likely continue. 

However, he stressed the need to maintain maximum pressure and sanctions against Pyongyang until the U.S. sees clear evidence that the North is acting on denuclearization.

Harris also said that North Korea remains a nuclear threat to the U.S., contradicting remarks Trump made a day before.

[Photo : KBS News]