President Donald Trump said Sunday that he has directed the Pentagon to sharply scale back upcoming joint military exercises with South Korea, linking the decision in part to Seoul’s refusal to join U.S.-backed actions against Iran.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the drills were too close to their start date to be called off altogether, but made clear he was “not happy” that Washington had agreed to take part in them.
He also pointed to what he described as his “very good relationship” with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as a reason to question the message the exercises send.
“These exercises are not only costly… but send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile, to a Country that, as long as Donald J. Trump has been President, has been unthreatening and respectful,” Trump wrote.
The president’s comments also referenced South Korea’s position on the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, highlighting Seoul’s decision not to participate in related actions.
Trump’s statement marks a significant intervention in the annual military coordination between the United States and South Korea, a partnership long viewed as central to deterrence on the Korean Peninsula.
His post came just hours before the exercises were due to begin, underscoring that the administration was seeking reductions rather than a full cancellation at this late stage.
The Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises are scheduled to take place from August 17 to 27 and involve roughly 18,000 South Korean service members. Officials said last week the drills would include training to counter drones, GPS signal disruption and cyberattacks, reflecting efforts to adapt to North Korea’s evolving capabilities.
Trump’s message again emphasized his personal rapport with Kim Jong Un, framing the drills as unnecessarily provocative toward a country he said had been “unthreatening and respectful” during his presidency.
“These exercises are not only costly… but send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile, to a Country that, as long as Donald J. Trump has been President, has been unthreatening and respectful,” Trump wrote.
He also pointed to South Korea’s stance on the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran.
“While somewhat unrelated (?), I recently asked the President of South Korea if they would like to join us in the Denuclearization of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and they said, ‘No thanks!’” Trump wrote.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for more information on Trump’s request to reduce the military drills. The Pentagon also did not immediately respond.
Pyongyang routinely denounces the U.S.-South Korean exercises as preparations for an invasion. North Korea last Wednesday fired a ballistic missile from its eastern coast towards the Sea of Japan, the South Korean and Japanese militaries said, six days after a similar North Korean short-range ballistic missile launch on August 6.
U.S. military officials have said that North Korean troops, who have fought alongside Russia in its invasion of Ukraine, have gained experience from the conflict, including the growing use of unmanned systems, electronic warfare and cyber operations.
Ukraine said last week that North Korean-made missiles were used in a Russian ballistic missile attack on a steel plant in Zaporizhzhia that killed seven workers and forced a production halt, with Russia’s Zircon hypersonic missiles also used in the attack.
