US-South Korea Drills Cut Short Amid Trump's Push for Kim Talks

The United States and South Korea will shorten their joint military drills, the Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise, ending it on Friday, six days ahead of the original schedule. This decision comes after U.S. President Donald Trump expressed dissatisfaction with the exercises, calling them costly and "hostile" toward North Korea. Trump cited his "very good relationship" with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as a reason for scaling back the drills. South Korea's military confirmed the request came from the U.S. side. Joint field training exercises, which involve live outdoor drills, will also be partially reduced, though specific details are still being finalized. A Pentagon official confirmed the U.S. military is "substantially" reducing these joint exercises. South Korea's Foreign Minister Cho Hyun revealed that Seoul was caught by surprise by Trump's directive, stating that neither South Korean nor U.S. government officials had prior knowledge of it. Reports from South Korean broadcasters, citing unnamed military sources, suggested that the exercise's second stage, a simulated counterattack against North Korea, might be scrapped entirely. This early termination differs from previous adjustments to joint exercises, which were typically decided before the drills commenced. The U.S. military presence in South Korea dates back to the Korean War, and the two nations maintain close military ties through regular training and exercises.

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Our government officials, of course, and the US government officials hadn’t known about it in advance.