Trump orders Pentagon to scale back US-South Korea joint military drills

President Donald Trump has ordered the Pentagon to substantially scale back planned joint military exercises with South Korea, citing Seoul’s refusal to support US efforts to denuclearize Iran and pointing to his relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

In a social media post on Sunday, Trump said the exercises, scheduled to begin this week, were costly and sent an “inappropriate and hostile” signal to North Korea. He said Kim’s government had been “unthreatening and respectful” toward him since he returned to the White House.

Trump said he had instructed Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to “substantially reduce” the exercises because it was too late to cancel them entirely. He also said he had recently asked South Korean President Lee Jae Myung to join US efforts to denuclearize Iran, but Seoul declined.

The 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises involve about 18,000 South Korean troops and are intended to strengthen the allies’ readiness against potential North Korean threats.

North Korea on Friday denounced the drills as a rehearsal for an “aggressive war” and threatened unspecified countermeasures. Pyongyang has frequently criticised US-South Korean military exercises and has used them as justification for weapons tests and efforts to expand its military capabilities.

The planned drills were to include joint operations under complex scenarios, including live-fire precision targeting and manoeuvres, a wet-gap crossing and the distribution of prepositioned military equipment.

The US military has described Ulchi Freedom Shield as an important exercise for strengthening the alliance and maintaining regional peace and security, reaffirming Washington’s commitment to defend South Korea.

The announcement came days after North Korea resumed ballistic missile testing, despite such launches being banned under UN sanctions. South Korea, the US and Japan detected a short-range ballistic missile launch earlier this month, marking North Korea’s first ballistic weapons test since late June.

North Korea has accelerated efforts to expand its nuclear and missile programmes since Kim’s diplomacy with Trump collapsed in 2019. Trump met Kim three times during his first term to discuss denuclearisation and has expressed interest in restarting talks since returning to office.

Trump’s latest announcement came a day after he posted a photograph with Kim and said the two leaders “get along great.”

Trump also sought to scale back the exercises during his first term, calling them provocative and saying in 2018 that suspending them could save the US significant money while negotiations with North Korea continued.