US President Donald Trump has ordered the Pentagon to scale back joint military exercises with close ally South Korea, citing his “very good relationship” with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump stated in a Sunday social media post that the drills, set to begin Monday, are costly and “send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile” to North Korea, a nation he claims has been “unthreatening and respectful” during his time in the White House.
“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. He also referenced Seoul’s foreign policy, noting, “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!’”
Trump added that because it was too late to cancel the exercises entirely, he had instructed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to “substantially reduce” them. However, South Korea’s Ministry of Defence responded to the post by stating that the military exercises would “proceed as previously notified and scheduled.”
The annual Ulchi Freedom Shield drills, scheduled for 11 days from August 17 to 27, involve 18,000 South Korean soldiers. These exercises are a regular summer fixture designed to prepare allied forces for defense against nuclear-armed North Korea, which is currently battle-hardened from its involvement in Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Pyongyang has long condemned these exercises as rehearsals for an invasion. Last week, North Korea denounced the upcoming drills as a provocation that heightens regional tensions. A spokesperson for North Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned on Friday that US-Japan-South Korea military cooperation is evolving into a nuclear alliance, adding that Pyongyang will respond to new threats with a new level of deterrent.
The day before his announcement, Trump shared a photo of himself with Kim, writing that the two leaders get along great, “despite the unfriendly look on this particular picture.” During his first term, Trump met with Kim three times. This is not the first time the president has sought to limit these drills; following a historic 2018 summit in Singapore, he famously labeled the military exercises as “expensive” and “provocative.”