Trump orders reduction of US military exercises with South Korea due to Kim Jong-un
US President Donald Trump has instructed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to significantly scale back the joint US-South Korea military exercise Ulchi Freedom Shield. He justified the decision by the high cost of the maneuvers and unwillingness to send a "hostile" signal to North Korea amid his "very good relations" with Kim Jong-un.
Trump announced the decision on August 16, virtually on the eve of the exercise's start. According to him, it was already too late to cancel them entirely, so Hegseth received an order to "substantially reduce" the scale of the maneuvers. The president also expressed displeasure that Seoul declined to support US actions aimed at denuclearizing Iran.
What exactly the US intends to reduce
For now, this remains the main unknown. Trump did not specify whether it involves reducing the number of troops, field exercises, air sorties, or other components of the training. After the US president's announcement, the South Korean Ministry of Defense stated that Ulchi Freedom Shield would proceed according to the previously announced schedule. Thus, at this moment, it is unclear how exactly Washington's directive will be implemented during the already commenced maneuvers.
Ulchi Freedom Shield is set to last from August 17 to 27. About 18,000 South Korean troops, US units, and representatives of 11 other UN Command countries were planned to participate. US military officials describe the exercises as a tool for maintaining joint US-South Korea defense readiness.
Why Trump's decision matters
Washington and Seoul have for decades used large-scale joint exercises to rehearse actions in case of conflict on the Korean Peninsula. Pyongyang, for its part, regularly calls them preparation for an attack. Ahead of this year's maneuvers, North Korea again protested against them and conducted missile launches.
At the same time, US and South Korean military planners this year intended to make the exercise more relevant considering North Korea's recent combat experience. Scenarios reportedly included the use of drones, GPS jamming, and cyberattacks. US command representatives noted that the participation of North Korean troops in Russia's war against Ukraine has changed the capabilities of the DPRK army and should be taken into account in allied training.
Trump has previously scaled back exercises for talks with Kim
This is not the first time that Trump's personal relationship with Kim Jong-un has affected US-South Korean maneuvers. After the first US-DPRK summit in Singapore in 2018, Washington and Seoul canceled the large-scale Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise, and several other drills were subsequently reduced or refocused. The Trump administration then viewed the move as part of the diplomatic process with Pyongyang.
The current decision again demonstrates Trump's willingness to use military exercises as an element of negotiating policy towards North Korea. However, until the White House and the Pentagon release specific parameters for reducing Ulchi Freedom Shield, assessing its actual impact on the readiness of US and South Korean forces is impossible.
Sources: Truth Social, Axios, The Guardian
