Donald Trump has ordered a major reduction in the annual US-South Korea military drills, a day after sharing a throwback photo with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. We “get along GREAT”, the US president said at the time.
Trump said on Monday that the military exercises were “inappropriate and hostile” and ordered US war secretary Pete Hegseth to “substantially reduce” them. He said he was unhappy that the US had agreed to take part in the drills despite his “very good relationship” with Kim.
He also brought Iran into the discussion and said South Korea declined to join US efforts aimed at the “Denuclearization of the Islamic Republic of Iran”.
The decision came hours before the “Ulchi Freedom Shield” exercises were due to begin in South Korea.
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Trump shares photo with Kim Jong Un
On Saturday, Trump posted a throwback photo of himself with Kim on Truth Social. “Despite the unfriendly look on this particular picture, there are many where we’re smiling, Kim Jong Un and I get along GREAT!” Trump wrote.
{{/usCountry}}On Saturday, Trump posted a throwback photo of himself with Kim on Truth Social. “Despite the unfriendly look on this particular picture, there are many where we’re smiling, Kim Jong Un and I get along GREAT!” Trump wrote.
{{/usCountry}}A day later, Trump criticised the 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,” he said.
Trump said the exercises were expensive and said that was “totally inappropriate and hostile” to North Korea. He added that it was too late to cancel the drills completely but said he had ordered them to be substantially reduced.
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Trump brings Iran into the issue
Trump also criticised South Korea over its stance on Iran. On Sunday, Trump said he asked South Korean President Lee Jae Myung whether Seoul wanted to join the US in the “Denuclearization of the Islamic Republic of Iran”.
“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 wrote. Trump previously criticised US allies over their support for Washington's policies, including its war on Iran.
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South Korea says drills will continue
The annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise is scheduled from August 17 to August 27. It is aimed at preparing US and South Korean forces for a possible attack by North Korea. South Korea’s defence ministry said the drills had begun and would “proceed as previously notified and scheduled”, AP reported.
About 18,000 South Korean troops and US forces are taking part. The exercise will focus on threats including drones, GPS disruption and cyberattacks.
The US has around 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea. North Korea has long opposed the exercises and called them preparations for an invasion.
Its foreign ministry said on Friday that military cooperation between the US, Japan and South Korea was becoming a “nuclear alliance”, Reuters reported.
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“The US-Japan-South Korea military cooperation is turning into a nuclear alliance, and North Korea will respond to a new level of threat with a new level of deterrent,” the spokesperson said.
North Korea also said the latest drills were different from those held in previous years and were focused on “new aspects of modern warfare”.
On August 12, North Korea fired a suspected ballistic missile towards the East Sea, according to South Korea’s military.
On Monday, South Korea’s presidential Blue House said it was reviewing Trump’s remarks on scaling back joint military drills. Improved ties between Washington and Pyongyang could help pave the way for meaningful talks, they said, as per Reuters.
Seoul also said it would continue consultations with Washington on military cooperation related to the Strait of Hormuz while discussing details of the joint exercises.
Will Kim react?
Lim Eul-chul, a North Korea expert at Kyungnam University, told AFP that Pyongyang would consider the move meaningful only if the drills were cancelled completely.
“The North will only view it as meaningful if the joint exercises are cancelled in their entirety rather than scaled back. It has little reason to see this as meaningful,” he said.
“I am doubtful it will draw an immediate reaction from Kim Jong Un in that regard.”
Trump and Kim last met in person in 2019. Their talks on North Korea’s nuclear programme later broke down.