Seoul: North Korea Has Up to 120 Warheads

Ahn declined to say whether Trump's reference to 57 warheads amounted to U.S. recognition of North Korea as a nuclear state, saying it would not be appropriate for South Korea's defense minister to comment on the U.S. president's remarks. Asked directly whether Seoul acknowledges the North as nuclear-armed, he said: "We cannot officially acknowledge that."

He also ruled out any change to South Korea's own nuclear posture. "We cannot develop nuclear weapons. Nor should we accept the deployment of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons," Ahn said, adding that Seoul will continue to rely on the U.S. nuclear umbrella.

From Pyongyang, Kim Yo Jong dismissed the scaled-back drills as a goodwill gesture. "We think it's not worth making comments on that and we have no interest in it at all," she said in a statement carried by state media. "The provocative, aggressive nature of the drills won't change even though their duration and size were reduced." She cited other U.S.-South Korean exercises earlier this year and Seoul's push for nuclear-powered submarines, and denied any recent communications between Trump and her brother — while describing the two leaders' relations as "still excellent."

Trump, pressed by reporters earlier in the week on whether he had spoken with Kim, said Kim had responded to his request for a conversation.