Seoul: South Korea's Unification Minister, Chung Dong-young, stated on Saturday that adjustments to joint military exercises with the United States would be "inevitable" if a summit between the US and North Korea is to occur in the first half of next year.

According to Anadolu Agency, Chung highlighted the sensitivity of the issue, stressing that it would be challenging to progress toward a North Korea-US summit while maintaining the joint South Korea-US military drills. He underscored the necessity of a meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as a crucial step in reviving the long-stalled inter-Korean relations.

Chung expressed his regret that the two leaders did not meet during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit held in Gyeongju on October 31 and November 1, attributing the missed opportunity to Pyongyang's miscalculation. Despite Trump's repeated expressions of willingness to meet Kim ahead of his visit to Seoul last month, Pyongyang did not respond to the invitation.

Chung pointed out that the period around Trump's planned visit to Beijing in April would serve as a "critical moment," and emphasized the need for the government in Seoul to work diligently over the next five months to facilitate a North Korea-US summit.

Earlier in the week, South Korea's national intelligence agency reported detecting signs that North Korea had been preparing for a potential meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un during the APEC gathering in South Korea.