Seoul: South Korea is not considering adjusting its joint military drills with the United States as part of efforts to resume stalled talks with North Korea, National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said Sunday. Wi made the remarks when asked whether Seoul might review the regular exercises with Washington to help revive inter-Korean dialogue, as Pyongyang has dismissed Seoul's overtures since President Lee Jae Myung's first six months in office.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Wi stated that while there are many possible options to resume dialogue, the Korea-U.S. joint exercises are not directly being considered as leverage. He acknowledged that progress in inter-Korean relations has been limited, pledging continued efforts to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula and resume dialogue with Pyongyang.

Last month, President Lee expressed that although a stable peace regime where large-scale exercises are unnecessary is desirable in the long term, decisions on drills must depend on evolving security circumstances. He noted that it is premature to draw conclusions on the matter, citing it as "the most sensitive" issue for North Korea. Pyongyang has long denounced the Seoul-Washington exercises as "war rehearsals," while the allies claim they are defensive in nature.

Lee has renewed his call for dialogue after Seoul proposed military talks to clarify the Military Demarcation Line to prevent unintended clashes near the border, but Pyongyang has yet to respond. Wi later told reporters that North Korea's omission from Washington's recent National Security Strategy (NSS) does not appear to stem from U.S. indifference to North Korean issues, but may instead be attributed to its "America First" focus.

"There appears to be no reason to believe the U.S. is uninterested in resolving North Korea's nuclear issues or in resuming talks with the North," Wi said, adding that the issues may be dealt with in lower-level documents in the future. Last Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump's administration released the document outlining its stance on foreign policy, defense and economic security, without mentioning North Korea, a departure from past documents.