SINGAPORE – United President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (June 12) that he was suspending war games with South Korea following a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, in what appears to be a major concession to Pyongyang.

“Under the circumstances, that we’re negotiating ... I think it’s inappropriate to be having war games,” Mr Trump told a press conference at the end of the highly-anticipated summit.

“We will be stopping the war games which will save us a tremendous amount of money. It is very provocative.”

Mr Trump said there are no plans now to remove the 28,500 US troops stationed in South Korea, though he again signalled that he favoured a long-term plan to reduce US troop numbers in its North-east Asian ally.

"I want to get our soldiers out. I want to bring our soldiers back home," Mr Trump said. "But that's not part of the equation right now. I hope it will be eventually."

Pressed on what America was getting in return for halting the military exercises, which the North has often cited as a threat to its security and why it needed nuclear weapons, Mr Trump said "we haven't given up anything.”

Rather, he cast the decision as a cost-saving measure, complaining that the military drills with Seoul are “very expensive”.

“We pay for the majority of them. We fly the bombers in from Guam. That's a long time for these big massive planes to be flying to South Korea to practise and then drop bombs all over the place and then go back to Guam. I know a lot about airplanes, it's very expensive,” he said.

"South Korea contributes but not 100 per cent. Number one, we save money. A lot. And number two, it really is something I think (North Korea) very much appreciated.”

Mr Trump pointed out that Pyongyang had also offered concessions, including closing down a testing facility for missile engines.

He characterised that as a last-minute decision that was not included in the joint agreement both leaders had signed earlier in the day where Washington agreed to provide security guarantees while the North commits to complete denuclearisation,

“I got that after we signed the agreement,” Mr Trump said of the North Korean concession to close its facility.

“I said, ‘Do me a favour; we’ve got this missile-engine testing site. We know where it is because of the heat.’ It’s incredible the equipment we have, to be honest with you.”

The American President, however, said sanctions against the reclusive regime would remain in place until denuclearisation is complete.

“The sanctions will come off when we know that the nukes are no longer effective,” he said.

Mr Trump’s announcement on the freeze in war games caught South Korea by surprise.

“At this point, we need to know President Trump’s exact meaning or intentions,” according to a statement released by the office of South Korean President Moon Jae-in. “However we think that it is crucial to pursue various solutions for better dialogue.”

The US forces in Korea said they had not received any updated guidance on military exercises.

“In coordination with our ROK (Republic of Korea) partners, we will continue with our current military posture until we receive updated guidance,” a spokesperson told Reuters.

Washington and Seoul had delayed annual exercises early this year until after the Winter Olympics and Paralympics held in South Korea in February to create conditions for a resumption of talks between South and North Korea.

The Foal Eagle drill took place in April for a month, involving some 11,500 American and 290,000 South Korean troops.

A concurrent computer-simulated Key Resolve drill was held for two weeks in the second half of April.

“This was the biggest outcome of the #TrumpKimSummit. Cancelling US-ROK joint military exercises is a huge unwarranted concession, but it could potentially lead to many North Korean concessions in future,” Mr Frank Aum, a senior expert at the US Institute of Peace, wrote on Twitter.

He noted that the cancellation of such exercises in 1992 directly led to North Korea signing an International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards agreement and created the environment for a 1994 agreement between US and North Korea.

During the hour-long press conference on Tuesday, Mr Trump was asked repeatedly how he can trust Mr Kim in light of North Korea's violations of past agreements and the regime’s brutality.

“Can I ensure that you’re going to be able to sit down properly when you sit down? You can’t ensure anything,” Mr Trump said, somewhat frustrated.

“All I can say is they want to make a deal. That’s what I do. My whole life has been deals. I’ve done great at it. That’s what I do. And I know when somebody wants to deal, and I know when somebody doesn’t.”

Mr Trump said that human rights did come up during the talks, albeit briefly and that the issue will be “discussed more in the future.”

Mr Kim has been accused on ordering the murder of his brother Kim Jong Nam and has been blamed for the death of an American student detained and sent home in a coma.

Pressed on his statement that Mr Kim is “very talented,” Mr Trump said “well, he is very talented.”

“Anybody that takes over a situation like he did at 26 years of age and is able to run it and run it tough - I don’t say he was nice, or I don’t say anything about it,” Mr Trump said, adding that the student, Otto Warmbier “is a very special person”.

“Without Otto Warmbier, this summit wouldn’t have happened," Mr Trump said. “Otto is someone who did not die in vain.