It looks like China knew about Trump stopping war games before the US military did

Lee Jin-man/AP

Joint US-South Korean war games held in 2015.

• President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the US and South Korea would stop joint military drills after meeting Kim Jong Un.
• But the Pentagon hasn't heard anything about it, even though China apparently has.
• US military forces in Korea have not received any direction to cease joint military drills, a spokesman said on Tuesday.
• The US has long resisted calls to suspend military drills, even when offered a freeze in North Korean missile and nuclear testing in return.
• It traditionally asserted that bilateral, planned, and transparent military drills are legal while North Korea's nuclear program is not.

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday after meeting with Kim Jong Un that the US and South Korea would stop military drills - but it appears China knew about it before the Pentagon did.

US military forces in Korea have not received any direction to cease joint military drills, a spokesman said on Tuesday, Reuters notes.

Meanwhile, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said "Our suspension for suspension process is right and has been realised," a BBC correspondent in China reported.

The US has long resisted calls from North Korea and China for a "suspension for suspension," whereby the US would stop military drills in exchange for a freeze in North Korean missile and nuclear testing.

Historically, the US has asserted that the bilateral, planned, and transparent military drills are legal while North Korea's nuclear program is not, so it would be blackmail to suspend them for Pyongyang.

"USFK has received no updated guidance on execution or cessation of training exercises - to include this fall's schedule Ulchi Freedom Guardian," US Forces in Korea Lt. Col. Jennifer Lovett said in a statement seen by Reuters.

"In coordination with our ROK partners, we will continue with our current military posture until we receive updated guidance from the Department of Defense (DoD) and/or Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM)."

This is not the first time an announcement from Trump has caught the military off-guard. When Trump tweeted that transgender US citizens wouldn't be allowed to serve in the military, the Pentagon also had received no guidance.