Military drill suspension powerful confidence-building measure: Ex-U.S. nuclear envoy

A former U.S. nuclear negotiator Joseph R. DeTrani, on Friday said, the decision taken by Seoul and Washington to suspend military exercise is a powerful confidence-building measure with North Korea.

DeTrani made the remark while attending the Global Intelligence Summit hosted by the Institute for National Intelligence Strategy, a think tank under the National Intelligence Service.

Taking into consideration, the historic summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the former US nuclear envoy cited a flurry of positive developments.

"I don't think it is too much of a concession. It is something that could be reconstituted. ... It is a powerful one where the ROK and the U.S. agreed to halt that," Yonhap quoted DeTrani as saying.

ROK stands for Republic of Korea, which is South Korea's official name.

"It is more than a gesture. It is a powerful deliverable to North Korea to say we are not hostile and we are prepared to move forward in a positive way, assuming that you are serious and you move forward," he added.

On June 19, US and S Korea announced their decision to suspend Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise (joint military exercise).

US President Donald Trump, after his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had said, that the US would halt war games with South Korea.

Commenting on the prospect of the US' negotiations with the North, DeTrani stated that they would go beyond denuclearisation to normalise bilateral ties, which Pyongyang wants as part of security assurances.

"To get normal relations with the U.S. is not just denuclearization. It is human rights and it is illicit activities -- counterfeiting our currency, cigarettes and pharmaceuticals, and dealing with drugs. That would be part of a normalization process," DeTrani added.

Trump and Kim, on June 12 signed a joint agreement, according to which Kim committed to 'complete denuclearisation of Korean Peninsula' a while Trump pledged 'security guarantees' to the North.