The United States, Japan and South Korea will maintain pressure on North Korea despite yesterday's decision to postpone a joint military exercise on the Korean Peninsula until after the Winter Olympics scheduled for February, Japan's high official Yoshihide Suga (pictured) stated on Friday. Suga said that the three countries "have confirmed a shared policy to further increase pressure against North Korea," and added that the decision to delay the joint drills does not signal a period of decreased pressure on North Korea.
Yesterday, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his US counterpart Donald Trump agreed in a phone call to postpone the previously planned joint large-scale military exercise until after the Pyeongchang Olympics, in order to make way for the revamped inter-Korean dialogue. Earlier today, the two Koreas have reached a breakthrough in negotiations, agreeing to hold a high-level meeting next Tuesday in order to discuss North's participation in the Winter Olympics among other issues. The preliminary communication between the two countries, prompted by Pyongyang leader Kim Jong-un's New Year speech, has been enabled by the reopening of a cross-border hotline channel which has been closed since February 2016.
