South Korea will consider 'change' to pressure on North, review drills with U.S

South Korean President Moon Jae-in speaks during a news conference at the Presidential Blue House in Seoul, South Korea, May 27, 2018.?REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea will have to be flexible when it comes to military pressure on North Korea if it is sincere about denuclearisation, and it will review its position on military exercises with the United States, President Moon Jae-in said on Thursday.

U.S. President Donald Trump expressed his intention to halt U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises on Tuesday, after a historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

"If North Korea sincerely carries out denuclearisation steps and North Korea's dialogue with the South and the United States to resolve hostilities goes well, it will be necessary to flexibly change military pressure against the North to abide by the spirit of the Panmunjom Declaration," Moon said, referring to an agreement on better ties he made with Kim in an April summit.

Moon said South Korea would carefully consider joint military drills with the United States and he asked his officials to cooperate with the United States on the issue, his office said in a statement.

(Reporting by Christine Kim; Editing by Robert Birsel)