President Trump said Sunday that the United States will "substantially reduce" joint military exercises with South Korea, citing his "very good relationship" with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and irritation that Seoul declined to join US action against Iran. The announcement, posted on Truth Social hours before the allies' annual drills were set to begin, unsettled a decades-old alliance just as Washington and Pyongyang are both signaling renewed interest in diplomacy.
"These exercises are 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," Trump wrote, according to CBS News. He also said he had asked South Korea's president to join the "denuclearization" effort against Iran and been told "No thanks!" South Korea's presidential office said only that the drills would proceed "as scheduled" and that it was reviewing Trump's remarks, adding it hoped warmer US–North Korea ties could open the door to talks.
The timing is notable: the 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise, involving roughly 18,000 South Korean troops and elements of the roughly 28,500 American service members based in the country, was scheduled to begin Monday. It comes days after North Korea conducted its second ballistic missile test in a matter of days, missiles the United Nations bans Pyongyang from testing, and after Pyongyang's foreign ministry condemned the drills in advance as "a rehearsal for an aggressive war."
An alliance strained before
Trump has scaled back the exercises before, suspending them entirely in 2018 during denuclearization talks with Kim and paring them down again in 2020 during the pandemic. Analysts warn the latest move carries real risk for little gain. "US-South Korea combined defence exercises are essential for military forces to be ready and capable of doing their jobs," Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, told the BBC. "Scaling them back can damage alliance coordination... and weaken deterrence against possible conflicts in Asia," he said, adding that "the cost savings from downsizing drills are marginal, while the diplomatic benefits for relations with North Korea are doubtful."
Trump's post also carried a pointed message to Seoul over its refusal to help with Iran, echoing past complaints — aimed at Japan, France and the UK as well — about allies unwilling to share the burden of US military campaigns. Seoul committed $350 billion to US investment earlier this year to smooth relations, and Trump has repeatedly argued South Korea gets more from the alliance than it contributes. Last week, South Korea's president separately proposed talks with the North on formally ending the Korean War, still technically active under a 1953 armistice.
The White House has not detailed which elements of the exercises will be cut or when, and the Pentagon has not issued a public order confirming the scale-back Trump announced. South Korean and US commands are expected to clarify the scope of any changes as Ulchi Freedom Shield proceeds this week, while Seoul continues separate consultations with Washington over the unrelated crisis in the Strait of Hormuz.
