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Trump orders drill cut
US President Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon to “substantially reduce” joint military exercises with South Korea, saying the drills are costly and “send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile” to North Korea.
“Trump said in a social media post on Sunday that the exercises, due to start on Monday, are costly”
Trump said the exercises, due to start on Monday, were “too late to cancel,” and he instructed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to “substantially reduce” them.
South Korea’s Ministry of Defence said the military exercises would “proceed as previously notified and scheduled,” even as the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield drills were scheduled to run for 11 days from August 17 to 27 and involve 18,000 South Korean soldiers.
Al Jazeera reported that North Korea has condemned the drills as a provocation that heightens tensions on the Korean Peninsula, and it cited a North Korea Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson saying US-Japan-South Korea military cooperation is turning into a nuclear alliance.
Seoul reviews, Pyongyang silent
The BBC said Seoul was reviewing Trump’s comments and hoped a favourable relationship between Washington and Pyongyang could lead to meaningful talks, while it added that Pyongyang had not yet commented.
In Trump’s Truth Social post, he wrote that the exercises “send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile,” and he also tied the decision to South Korea’s refusal to join US “denuclearisation” of Iran.
CNN reported that Ulchi Freedom Shield began on Monday as planned, citing South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, and it said the drills were scheduled to run for 10 days and were designed to adapt to North Korea’s evolving capabilities.
CNN also quoted the South Korea presidential Blue House saying it was reviewing Trump’s comments and would continue working with the US on details related to the drills and the “maintenance of firm combined defense posture,” while North Korea’s foreign ministry had condemned the drills as “a rehearsal for an aggressive war” and a “grave threat” to its security.
Deterrence and alliance stakes
The BBC framed the stakes through expert Leif-Eric Easley of Ewha University in Seoul, who said “Scaling them back can damage alliance coordination” and weaken deterrence against possible conflicts in Asia.
“Scaling them back can damage alliance coordination”
The BBC also reported that North Korea’s foreign ministry condemned the joint drills as “a rehearsal for an aggressive war,” and it noted that the annual exercises were announced after North Korea conducted ballistic missile tests banned by the United Nations.
Al Jazeera said Pyongyang has always been angered by the exercises, saying they are rehearsals for an invasion, and it reported that a North Korea Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said Pyongyang will respond to a new level of threat with a new level of deterrent.
CNN added that the US and South Korea frequently hold joint military drills and that the exercises were designed to counter drones, GPS disruption and cyberattacks, while it said North Korea has yet to comment on Trump’s plan to scale back the drills.
