North Korea Says It Will Halt Nuke Tests If US Stops Drills With South

North Korea’s foreign minister said Saturday in an interview with The Associated Press that his country is ready to halt its nuclear tests if the United States suspends its annual military exercises with South Korea.

U.S. Marines (L) and South Korean Marines, wearing blue headbands on their helmets, take positions after landing on the beach during the joint military combined amphibious exercise, called Ssangyong, part of the Key Resolve and Foal Eagle military exercises, in Pohang, South Korea, on March 12, 2016. Kim Jun-bum/Yonhap via AP

NEW YORK—North Korea is ready to halt its nuclear tests if the United States suspends its annual military exercises with South Korea, the North Korean foreign minister told The Associated Press in an interview in which he also warned that his country won’t be cowed by international sanctions.

Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong defended the country’s right to maintain a nuclear deterrent, and for those waiting for the North’s regime to collapse, he had this to say: Don’t hold your breath.

“Stop the nuclear war exercises in the Korean Peninsula, then we should also cease our nuclear tests,” he said in his first interview Saturday with a Western news organization.

North Korea's Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong answers questions during an interview in New York on April 23, 2016. AP Photo/Julie Jacobson