Seoul's Defense Ministry said Tuesday that it anticipates corresponding measures from North Korea in response to the decision by South Korea and the U.S. to suspend their joint Ulchi Freedom Guardian(UFG) exercise.

In a regular briefing, ministry spokeswoman Choi Hyun-soo was asked if the suspension could have any effect on the combined defense readiness.

She said that Seoul and Washington were making and will continue to make preparations accordingly so that the joint defense posture is not affected in any way. 

Possible measures under speculation are the destruction of a missile engine testing site which North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is known to have promised to carry out during his summit talks with President Trump in Singapore last week.

As for the reason behind suspending the UFG, the spokeswoman said the measure is to contribute to continuing the peace momentum brought upon by the inter-Korean summit and the North Korea-U.S. summit meeting. 

[Photo : YONHAP News]