DPRK warns US against new drills

As Pyongyang issued a fresh warning against military drills by Washington and Seoul, US Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Wednesday said his country is open to altering military activity with its allies if it helps diplomatic efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.

Esper made the remark to reporters accompanying him on a flight to Seoul, where he is due to hold annual defense talks with the Republic of Korea's Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo.

"We will adjust our exercise posture, either more or less, depending on what diplomacy may require," Esper said, according to the ROK's Yonhap News Agency, referring to US-ROK combined military exercises that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea condemns as an invasion rehearsal.