President Donald Trump has directed the Pentagon to scale back joint US-South Korea military exercises, saying the drills are expensive and send an “inappropriate and hostile” message to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The directive was issued on Sunday, August 16, just a day before the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise was due to begin, as tensions on the Korean Peninsula remain heightened following two recent North Korean ballistic missile launches.
The 11-day exercise is designed to strengthen the defensive readiness of US and South Korean forces on the Korean Peninsula. This year’s drills are expected to involve roughly 18,000 South Korean troops, while about 28,500 US service members are stationed in South Korea.
Trump said it was too late to cancel the exercises completely but expressed dissatisfaction with the longstanding military arrangement between Washington and Seoul.
“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.
“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 to a Country that, as long as Donald J. Trump has been President, has been unthreatening and respectful.”
North Korea has consistently opposed the annual exercises, viewing them as preparations for an attack. Pyongyang’s Foreign Ministry described the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise last week as a “rehearsal for an aggressive war”.
Trump also connected his criticism of the exercises to South Korea’s position on US efforts involving Iran.
“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!’” Trump wrote, referring to South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.
The announcement comes as North Korea has intensified its weapons testing. Pyongyang conducted two ballistic missile launches within six days this month, including tests on August 6 and August 12.
Following the August 12 launch, US Indo-Pacific Command said it was consulting closely with regional allies and assessed that the missile did not pose an immediate threat to US personnel, territory or allies.
A similar assessment was issued after the August 6 launch, with US officials reaffirming Washington’s commitment to defending the US homeland and its allies in the region.
The latest developments have also raised concerns over North Korea’s growing military cooperation with Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that Pyongyang is using Russia’s war in Ukraine to test and improve its weapons, including ballistic missiles.
“For the first time in its history, Russia cannot wage war without reinforcements from North Korea,” Zelenskyy said.
“North Korea’s ballistic missiles and other weapons are being improved through its collaboration with Russia,” he added.
Zelenskyy warned that continued use of North Korean weapons and personnel in the war could increase the future security threat facing Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and other countries across the region.