Trump orders a cut in US-South Korea drills as he touts 'very good' relationship with Kim Jong Un
WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump told Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to cut back US involvement in joint military drills with South Korea. He said his decision came down to two things: his personal rapport with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un and his annoyance that South Korea didn’t back US military actions against Iran.
At the same time, both American and South Korean officers warned that North Korea has picked up new battlefield skills from its role in the war in Ukraine.
Trump announced all this on Sunday, August 16, just as the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises were about to start on Monday. He said he wasn’t happy with how involved the US was and had already told Hegseth to pull back. It was too late to cancel everything, but he insisted the exercises be scaled down.
Trump cites Kim Jong Un relationship and South Korea's Iran stance
Trump, in a post on Truth Social, said that the exercises, which were to start on Monday, are costly and “send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile” to North Korea.
The POTUS said further that Kim has been unthreatening and respectful while he has been in the White House.
Trump said that the joint military exercises were expensive, with much of their costs being borne by the US.
He further said that the exercises were too late to be cancelled and hence directed the secretary of defense to substantially reduce the joint military exercises.
“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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
This feels a lot like Trump’s earlier move, when he paused big US-South Korea military exercises after his first summit with Kim in 2018.
He said they were expensive and stirred up trouble. The drills eventually came back, but they looked a bit different.
On South Korea's Iran stance, Trump wrote in his Truth Social post, "While somewhat unrelated (?), I recently asked the President of South Korea if they would like to join us in the Denuclearization of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and they said, 'No thanks!'"
Military officials warn North Korea has gained from Ukraine combat experience
Last week, South Korean and US military officials said they would incorporate into the drills lessons drawn from North Korean troops’ increasing battlefield experience in Ukraine, including new drone tactics.
North Korea has deepened military ties with Russia since the two countries signed a comprehensive strategic partnership pact in June 2024, seeing Pyongyang provide troops, artillery ammunition, and ballistic missiles to support Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
At a joint briefing, Col Ryan Donald, public affairs director for the US-led commands in South Korea, said this year’s scenario would reflect “drones, GPS disruption [and] cyber attacks”, threats he linked directly to North Korean soldiers who have deployed and fought in Ukraine as part of Pyongyang’s military support for Russia.
“They’ve taken those lessons they learned there and brought them back to North Korea, that changes the DPRK capability,” Donald said, referring to North Korea’s formal name.
South Korea’s defense ministry said on Monday that the exercises aren’t being postponed, they’re moving forward as planned: “This is a very serious improvement in North Korean capabilities. And we should not take lightly this threat environment.”
