Trump revisits wargames with South Korea as North Korea talks stall

Trump says, joint exercises will be “far bigger” than ever before if they’re needed.

President Donald Trump is leaving open the possibility of relaunching military wargames with South Korea while saying there’s no reason at this time to spend millions of dollars on the exercises.

US military forces aboard Amphibious Assault Vehicles (AAV) manuevre on South China Sea near the shore of San Antonio, Zambales during the annual "Balikatan" (shoulder-to-shoulder) war games with Filipino soldiers in northern Philippines (REUTERS File Photo)

And, Trump says, joint exercises will be “far bigger” than ever before if they’re needed.

The message came in a series of tweets Wednesday that blamed China for a lack of progress in getting North Korea to end its nuclear program. At the same time, the president was sending North Korean leader Kim Jong Un an expression of goodwill and an implicit military threat.

In June, Trump surprised military leaders when he suspended military exercises with South Korea, calling them costly and provocative. While the move pleased North Korea, Trump tied the suspension to future negotiations with the North.