Trump orders reduction in US-South Korea military drills
President Donald Trump said he was "not happy" about US participation in joint military exercises with South Korea and has ordered a substantial reduction in the drills, citing his relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The comments came on Sunday, ahead of the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise, an 11-day summer fixture designed to steel South Korean and US forces for defence against the nuclear-armed North.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote: "Based on my very good relationship with Kim Jong Un, of North Korea, I am not happy with the fact that the United States has, long ago, agreed to participate in Joint Military Exercises with South Korea." He described the exercises as "not only costly, with much of these costs paid for by the United States of America (as usual!), 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 added that it was too late to cancel the drills, so he had ordered Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to "substantially reduce" them.
Seoul's response and the exercise
South Korea's defence ministry said the joint drills would "proceed as previously notified and scheduled" when asked about Trump's post. However, after Trump's announcement, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the allies agreed to conclude the joint exercises on Friday, six days sooner than originally scheduled. The exercise enlists 18,000 South Korean troops and counterparts from US forces in the country, with a heightened focus on drone warfare, GPS disruption and the role of cyber attacks. Colonel Ryan Donald said the exercise would simulate combat against battle-hardened North Korean troops.
The US stations about 28,500 troops in South Korea, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War that ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty. Pyongyang has always been angered by the drills, decrying them as dress rehearsals for an invasion.
Political reaction
Republican lawmaker Rich McCormick of Georgia questioned Trump's decision to cut short the joint military exercise. Speaking on Bloomberg This Weekend, McCormick — a US combat veteran and member of the House Armed Services Committee — said "I hope it's temporary" and that South Korea should be kept "closer to us, not to other countries who are basically invested in communism." He said integration with foreign allies is "very good for our force projection," adding of South Korea: "They see the world similarly. They have one enemy, one fight."
McCormick acknowledged that Trump "has a lot more information than I do" but said "I'm not sure what all played into that decision" on the military exercise.
Broader context
Trump's remarks came as he expressed frustration that South Korea had declined to join in the "Denuclearisation of the Islamic Republic of Iran." He said he recently asked the President of South Korea if they would like to participate in that effort and South Korea declined.
Experts say North Korea has expanded its nuclear and missile capabilities since the breakdown of Trump's negotiations with Kim, whom he last met in person in 2019. North Korea has also deepened ties with Russia since the Kremlin commanded the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, sending troops and munitions for Moscow's war in Ukraine in exchange for financial support, food, energy and military technology, according to analysts.
South Korea's dovish President Lee Jae Myung has reversed the stance of his hawkish predecessor since taking power in June 2025, offering Pyongyang talks without preconditions. The leadership of North Korea has yet to respond to Lee's repeated offers of talks.
Meanwhile, North Korea launched short-range ballistic missiles on Thursday in a show of force, dismissing the decision on the drills as immaterial in its view.