WASHINGTON DC: US President Donald Trump has said the United States will “substantially reduce” joint military exercises with South Korea, citing his “very good relationship” with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korea’s decision not to join the US in efforts to denuclearize Iran.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said South Korea had recently declined an invitation to participate in the US campaign for the “denuclearisation” of Iran.
“These exercises are not only costly, with much of these costs paid for by the United States of America (as usual!), but send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile,” Trump wrote.
South Korea, however, said the joint military exercises with the US would go ahead as scheduled. North Korea has yet to respond to Trump’s remarks. The announcement comes after Pyongyang conducted ballistic missile tests earlier this month despite a UN ban on such launches.
Trump said on Sunday that it was already “too late to cancel” the exercises, as the US and South Korea were scheduled to begin their annual drills on Monday.
In the same post, Trump referred to his recent conversation with the South Korean president, saying he had asked whether Seoul wanted to join the US in the “Denuclearization of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” but was told, “No thanks!”
Trump’s announcement came less than a day after he shared an old photograph of himself with Kim Jong Un taken in 2019. Describing the two as “great friends,” Trump acknowledged that they appeared unfriendly in the particular photograph.
Experts have warned that reducing the scale of joint US-South Korea military exercises could undermine military readiness and alliance coordination while providing limited benefits.
Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, said the combined defence exercises are essential for ensuring that the two countries’ armed forces remain prepared and capable of responding to potential threats.
He warned that scaling back the drills could weaken coordination between the allies, delay efforts to increase South Korea’s responsibility for its own defence and undermine deterrence against potential conflicts in the region.
According to Easley, the financial savings from reducing the exercises would be relatively small, while any diplomatic gains in improving relations with North Korea would remain uncertain.
US and South Korean military leaders announced the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises at a joint press conference last week. They said the 11-day drills would remain broadly similar in scale to previous years and involve around 18,000 South Korean troops.
Military officials also highlighted North Korea’s deployment of troops to support Russia in its war against Ukraine.
US military spokesperson Ryan Donald said US training takes into account the threat posed by North Korean troops returning from the battlefield. Around 28,500 US military personnel are currently stationed in South Korea.
(Inputs from BBC)
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