President Donald Trump said the United States will “substantially reduce” joint military exercises with South Korea, arguing the drills are costly and send an “inappropriate and hostile” signal.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the decision reflected his “very good relationship” with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un. He also pointed to South Korea’s recent decision not to join the United States in the denuclearisation of Iran.

Trump said the exercises are expensive, with much of the cost paid by the United States, and added that the planned training is “too late to cancel” as the two countries are due to begin their annual manoeuvres on Monday.

Neither Seoul nor Pyongyang issued a response to the comments.

Cost, Costliness And A Different Signal

Trump said the exercises were not only costly but also that they would communicate hostility. He said South Korea had declined an invitation for involvement in US-led denuclearisation efforts regarding Iran, adding that he had asked South Korean President if Seoul would like to join and that South Korea replied “No thanks”.

The announcement comes amid heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula following North Korea’s recent ballistic missile tests, which are banned under United Nations resolutions.

Ulchi Freedom Shield Planned Next Week

The reduction is taking place around the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise, which was announced last week at a joint press conference by US and South Korean military leaders.

They said the 11-day drills would be similar in scale to previous years and would involve about 18,000 South Korean soldiers. US and South Korean officials also referenced North Korea’s deployment of troops to support Russia’s war against Ukraine.

---

RELATED

South Korea Urges Peace Talks to Finally End Korean War

---

US military spokesperson Ryan Donald said the exercises are intended to account for that threat, referring to North Korean soldiers returning from the battlefield. He said about 28,500 American military personnel are stationed in South Korea.

On Friday, North Korea’s foreign ministry condemned the joint drills as “a rehearsal for an aggressive war”.

Triggered By Recent Missile Tests

The joint exercises are scheduled only days after South Korea, the United States and Japan detected a second North Korean missile test within a short period.

Pyongyang has expanded its nuclear and missile programmes since the collapse in 2019 of Kim’s high-profile diplomacy with Trump during the president’s first term in office. Kim became the first sitting US president to visit North Korea, when Trump travelled there seven years ago.

Trump’s remarks about South Korea also appeared to reflect frustration that Seoul has not made direct military or logistical contributions to US efforts related to the conflict in Iran. He has previously expressed dissatisfaction with other allies, including Japan, France and the United Kingdom, over what he described as reluctance to become involved.

Previous Changes To Exercises

Trump’s decision to cut back training is not unprecedented. The United States suspended the exercises entirely in 2018 during denuclearisation negotiations with Kim. The drills were scaled back again in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Last week, South Korea’s president proposed talks with the northern neighbour on formally ending the war between the two countries, which remains technically active since an armistice signed in 1953.

Join the discussion?

17 August 2026

View full article

"...Trump said the exercises were not only costly but also that they would communicate hostility..."

Trump says the drills are too costly and too hostile, yet the US runs certain other military operations that dwarf these exercises in both expense and signalling.

If cost and “hostility” are really the problem, he’s looking in the wrong place.

14 minutes ago, Jim Waldron said:

If cost and “hostility” are really the problem, he’s looking in the wrong place

The reason is, and it was omitted from this article, is that when trump asked south korean leader if they would like to support the US in denuclearizing Iran, they declined.

In other words, united states really only has one ally, and its the one that globalists would like to get rid of the most.

6 minutes ago, harvardgrad said:

The reason is, and it was omitted from this article, is that when trump asked south korean leader if they would like to support the US in denuclearizing Iran, they declined.

In other words, united states really only has one ally, and its the one that globalists would like to get rid of the most.

Re-read the article as it is mentioned in the two paragraphs;

"He also pointed to South Korea’s recent decision not to join the United States in the denuclearisation of Iran."

and

"He said South Korea had declined an invitation for involvement in US-led denuclearisation efforts regarding Iran, adding that he had asked South Korean President if Seoul would like to join and that South Korea replied “No thanks”."

Awww ain’t that cute donald is trying to make nice to his lover after their little spat ehh?remember when he said they fell in love?That was after he squandered all those years of sanctions and diplomacy in the attempts to stop them from building nukes……little Kim has been just a cranking them out perfecting his delivery systems as he sends troops and weapons against Ukraine…….hummmm now donald is trying to hamstring readiness with our earstwile allie……hummmm….hella of a way to do diplomacy ehh?

MAGA: Helping out Communism is OK when we do it 👍

Edited 13 minutes ago13 min by SiSePuede419
IOKIYAMaggot