South Korea and the United States are expected to announce this week the suspension of their major joint military exercises as hinted at following the recent summit between U.S. and North Korean leaders, Yonhap News Agency reported Sunday.

According to Yonhap, a South Korean government source said Sunday that Seoul and Washington are likely to include in the announcement a provision to restart the exercises should Pyongyang fail to honor its promises to denuclearize.

(U.S. President Trump and South Korean President Moon at the White House on May 22)
[Getty/Kyodo]

"The South Korean and U.S. military authorities have been having close consultations over the combined exercises that U.S. President Donald Trump has said he will stop," Yonhap quoted the source as saying on condition of anonymity.

"This week, the South Korean and U.S. defense ministries will jointly announce the results of their discussions," the source added.

The source also said that the suspension might only cover annual large-scale maneuvers.

After his historic summit on Tuesday with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Trump suggested suspending the military exercises with South Korea in an apparent confidence-building move, provided the North continues denuclearization talks in good faith.

At the summit in Singapore, Kim committed to "complete" denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, while Trump pledged to provide security guarantees to Pyongyang.

On Thursday, South Korean President Moon Jae In echoed Trump's sentiment, saying Seoul is prepared to make "flexible changes" to its military stance toward North Korea if Pyongyang continues to hold sincere negotiations with the two countries.

North Korea has long demanded that the United States and South Korea stop conducting joint military exercises, which it regards as a rehearsal for invasion. The allies have long insisted that the drills are defensive in nature.

In the inter-Korean summit held on April 27, Kim and Moon expressed their commitment to the "complete" denuclearization of the peninsula.