Trump orders substantial reduction of U.S.-South Korea military exercises

Seoul, South Korea. U.S. President Donald Trump instructed the Pentagon on Sunday to “substantially reduce” joint military exercises with South Korea, hours before the 10-day drills were due to begin. He cited their cost and South Korea’s refusal to take part in actions against Iran.

Exercises begin as scheduled

Trump said on his Truth Social platform that it was too late to cancel the exercises entirely, but that he was “not happy” the United States had previously agreed to participate. He also referred to his “very good relationship” with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

“These exercises are not only costly… but send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile, to a Country that, as long as Donald J. Trump has been President, has been unthreatening and respectful,” Trump wrote.

The annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises are scheduled to run from August 17 to 27, involving about 18,000 South Korean military personnel. Officials said last week that the drills would include operations to counter drones, GPS disruption and cyberattacks in response to North Korea’s evolving capabilities.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff told Reuters that the exercises began on Monday as scheduled, but declined to comment on Trump’s remarks. The presidential office and the defence and foreign ministries did not immediately respond on a public holiday in Seoul.

A Pentagon spokesperson referred questions to the White House, which did not immediately respond to a request for further details on the planned reduction.

North Korea and previous disputes

Trump has sought to end or curtail joint exercises with South Korea since his first term, describing them as provocative and costly. He has also clashed with Seoul over the cost of maintaining 28,500 U.S. troops in South Korea and their role in regional security.

Pyongyang routinely describes U.S.-South Korean exercises as preparations for an invasion. North Korea fired a ballistic missile from its eastern coast towards the Sea of Japan last Wednesday, according to the South Korean and Japanese militaries, six days after another short-range ballistic missile launch on August 6.

Jenny Town, head of the Stimson Center think tank’s 38 North programme, said Trump may be seeking to improve relations with Kim.

“This decision may be part of a larger effort to create a diplomatic opportunity with Pyongyang, as Trump has consistently wanted since coming back to office, although the haphazard nature of this move is unlikely to make much of an impression in Pyongyang,” Town said in an email.