Esper doesn’t regret delaying drills, despite N. Korea snub

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper says he does not regret postponing a U.S.-South Korean military air exercise, even though the gesture was rejected by North Korea as not enough to restart nuclear diplomacy.

Esper spoke to reporters Thursday morning shortly before boarding his plane in Hanoi, Vietnam, for a flight to Washington.

He described North Korea’s response to the offer as being “not as positive as we would have liked.” In Esper’s words: “I don’t regret taking the high road.”

Esper and his South Korean counterpart had announced Sunday the allies indefinitely postponed the annual Vigilant Ace training in an “act of goodwill” toward North Korea. The moves were effort to convince North Korea to revive the nuclear talks that largely have stalled since the February collapse of a summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Senior North Korean official Kim Yong Chol said on Tuesday the U.S. must scrap that military drill completely and abandon its hostility against his country if it wants to see the resumption of the nuclear negotiations.

Esper also said he does not believe there is a rift in the U.S.-South Korean alliance, despite a breakdown this week in negotiations over a U.S. demand for a five-fold increase in what Seoul pays to keep 28,500 American troops on its soil.

Jeong Eun Bo, a South Korean negotiator on those talks, told reporters Tuesday that another round of talks was scheduled but didn’t specify when.