Trump Orders Major Cut to South Korea Military Drills, Cites Kim Jong Un Ties

Former U.S. President Donald Trump announced on social media that he has ordered a substantial reduction in joint military exercises with South Korea. Trump cited his "very good relationship" with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as the reason for his directive, stating he did not like the agreement for the U.S. to participate in these drills. He also pointed to the significant cost borne by the U.S. for these exercises, calling them "totally inappropriate and hostile signals" to nations that have shown respect towards the U.S. during his presidency.

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Given my very good relationship with Kim Jong Un of North Korea, I don’t love that the United States has agreed to pay what it is paying, and to do what we are doing, militarily, with South Korea.

The order was given to then-acting Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to "drastically reduce" the drills. While Trump did not specify which exercises would be scaled back or by how much, the announcement came just before the commencement of the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise, a 11-day joint drill between South Korea and the U.S. scheduled to begin on August 17. This timing has led to speculation about whether the scale and schedule of UFS will be adjusted.

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It is totally inappropriate and a signal that is not good to send to a country that has shown respect and, in my opinion, has been very fair to the United States.

This is not the first time Trump has sought to curtail joint military exercises with South Korea based on his relationship with Kim Jong Un. Following their first summit in Singapore in June 2018, Trump abruptly announced a halt to large-scale joint exercises, deeming them "very provocative" and costly. This led to the cancellation of the planned August 2018 exercise, known as Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG).

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I have instructed Acting Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to drastically reduce the size of the joint military exercises.

In addition to the military drills, Trump also expressed dissatisfaction with the South Korean government regarding Iran's denuclearization. He claimed to have asked the South Korean president about participating in denuclearization efforts with Iran, only to receive a "No thanks" response. The specifics of this alleged request and President Lee Jae-myung's purported reply remain unconfirmed.

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No thanks.