US and South Korea end joint drills early after Trump order
The annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises between South Korea and the United States ended around a week earlier than originally planned, both countries announced on Wednesday. The decision came after US President Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon to scale back the "inappropriate and hostile" drills, as he described them, citing his "good relationship" with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Seoul's military said the exercises, which began on August 17, would wrap up on Friday instead of August 27 as initially scheduled. A statement from South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the exercise period had been adjusted to run from the 17th to the 21st, and that the decision was made "at the suggestion of the US side."
The Pentagon said the "substantially reduced" drills would "preserve essential readiness" and cause "no degradation to US training objectives."
The exercises, designed to prepare for a possible attack by North Korea, were understood to have two phases: the first focused on defending against potential threats and was due to run until Friday, and the second, focused on a counteroffensive, was scheduled for August 24 to 27. The second phase has now been scrapped.
A South Korean military official told AFP that Seoul viewed the decision as "unusual."
North Korea's reaction
Pyongyang's state media criticized the drills on Wednesday as a "most immediate and open threat" to North Korea and regional security. The commentary by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) did not mention Trump's order or his desire to resume talks with Kim.
Hong Min, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said Pyongyang had deliberately avoided mentioning Trump's involvement. North Korea has long considered the exercises as dress rehearsals for an invasion.
Seoul's concerns
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said on Wednesday that Trump's order to curb the drills appeared aimed in part at pressuring Seoul to support US efforts in the Iran war, alongside other unresolved issues such as investment. He also said that Seoul had not been informed in advance of Trump's plan to downsize the exercises.
South Korea has pledged to invest $350 billion in the US under a trade deal signed last year.
Trump's rationale and experts' views
Trump insisted that he is making the situation "much safer" through his ties with Kim, and said that Kim had positively responded to his requests for a conversation. The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed US officials, reported that Trump is pushing for a meeting with Kim as soon as this autumn. Trump and Kim met three times during his first term, but they have not held talks during his second term.
Professor Park Won-gon said that reducing the exercises could have a positive impact on the possibility of US-North Korea dialogue.
The US stations about 28,500 troops in South Korea. Trump has repeatedly criticized longstanding US alliances, causing alarm among regional partners.