Trump says US to scale back military drills with South Korea after it stayed out of Iran war
Washington to Trim Joint Drills With Seoul After Pyongyang Missile Tests
Ninoda.com – The annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise was set to begin Monday when roughly 18,000 South Korean troops joined American forces in an 11-day operation of similar scale to prior years. Military leaders from both nations had confirmed the event at a joint press conference the previous week, noting that North Korea's dispatch of soldiers to support Russia's campaign in Ukraine factored into their planning.
US military spokesperson Ryan Donald stated that "our training accounts for that threat," pointing specifically to North Korean personnel expected to return from Ukrainian battlefields.
Trump's Truth Social Announcement
President Donald Trump announced on Sunday via Truth Social that the United States would "substantially reduce" its combined military exercises with South Korea. He attributed the shift partly to his "very good relationship" with Kim Jong Un and argued that the drills carried a message he found unacceptable.
"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 acknowledged the timing was awkward, writing that it was "too late to cancel" since the exercise was already scheduled to commence the following day.
The Iran Factor
A secondary grievance surfaced in the same post. Trump recalled asking South Korea's president whether Seoul wished to participate alongside Washington in what he called the "Denuclearization of the Islamic Republic of Iran," only to receive a flat refusal.
"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!'"
Pyongyang's Response and Missile Activity
North Korea's foreign ministry weighed in on Friday, reaffirming its right to self-defence while dismissing any perceived threat posed by the bilateral drills. The statement came days after South Korea, the United States, and Japan detected a second North Korean ballistic missile launch within a matter of days — tests that violate UN-mandated restrictions.
Since the breakdown of Kim's high-profile diplomatic engagement with Trump in 2019, Pyongyang has steadily accelerated its nuclear and missile development. That earlier overture had produced a historic moment: seven years ago, Trump became the first sitting American president to set foot inside North Korea during his visit.
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