McCain opposes suspending joint military exercises with South Korea

By Tony Bertuca / June 14, 2018 at 4:36 PM

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-AZ) said today he opposes President Trump's plans to suspend joint military exercises with South Korea.

"Suspending U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises is a mistake," McCain said in a statement. "Making unnecessary and unreciprocated concessions is not in our interests -- and it is a bad negotiating tactic."

Trump has characterized the exercises as "provocative," which McCain said undermines the U.S. alliance with South Korea and plays into Chinese and North Korean "propaganda."

McCain, who is away from Washington and being treated for terminal brain cancer in his home state of Arizona, said he continues to hope Trump will be successful in diplomatic efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, "but we must not impose upon ourselves the burden of providing so-called ‘good faith’ concessions as the price for continued dialogue."

Meanwhile, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-TX) has said he supports Trump's plans to suspend the exercises as long as negotiations with North Korea continue to make positive progress.

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