Aug 19 — The U.S. and South Korea announced they will end this year’s planned
annual joint military exercises early. Days earlier President Trump had proposed
scaling back the drills, citing his rapport with North Korean leader Kim Jong
Un. At a regular briefing on Aug 19, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin
Jian said Beijing had already addressed related questions and reiterated that
maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and promoting a
political solutions are in all parties’ common interest.