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Seoul confirms reduction of ongoing joint military exercises after Trump's order
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Conflict & Security

Seoul confirms reduction of ongoing joint military exercises after Trump's order

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Ongoing story
  • Seoul confirmed that joint military exercises with the U.S. will conclude six days early, ending August 21.
  • The decision follows a request from U.S. President Donald Trump to shorten the drills, aiming to restart dialogue with Pyongyang.
  • North Korea has denounced the exercises as an "aggression" rehearsal and warned of self-defense measures.

South Korea confirmed that major joint military exercises with the United States will conclude earlier than planned, a move aimed at facilitating dialogue with North Korea. The annual Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercises, which began on Monday, will now wrap up on August 21 instead of August 27.

South Korea and the United States have agreed, at the proposal of the U.S. side, to partially adjust the duration and scale of the exercises, among other aspects.

— South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS)Confirming the decision to shorten the military exercises.

The decision to partially adjust the duration and scale of the drills was made at the proposal of the U.S. side, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). This adjustment comes after U.S. President Donald Trump called for a "substantial" reduction of the exercises, arguing they send an inappropriate message to Pyongyang.

The U.S. president asked for a 'substantial' reduction of the exercise, which, according to him, sends an inappropriate message to Pyongyang.

— EFEReporting on President Trump's request to shorten the drills.

Trump stated that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had responded positively to his communications regarding resuming dialogue. While Trump did not provide specific details, he described the exchanges as "very positive." This marks a shift from Trump's first term, where military exercise adjustments were made before their commencement, not during ongoing drills.

The leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un, had already responded to his communications to resume dialogue and that the exchanges were 'very positive'.

— Donald TrumpDescribing positive communication with Kim Jong-un.

North Korea, meanwhile, has labeled the UFS exercises as a rehearsal for "aggression," a typical response from Pyongyang. The state-run KCNA reported that the North warned of implementing "self-defense measures." The U.S. president also mentioned that South Korean President Lee Jae Myung had rejected a U.S. request to join efforts for Iran's "denuclearization."

North Korea denounced the UFS exercise calling it an 'aggression' rehearsal, as it usually does, and warned of implementing 'self-defense measures'.

— KCNANorth Korea's official reaction to the military drills.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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