South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called on Tuesday for the country to strengthen its own military readiness, after President Donald Trump ordered a reduction in U.S. participation in joint American-South Korean military drills.
Lee delivered the message during a Cabinet meeting, one day after the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises got underway. Over the weekend, Trump said on social media that he had instructed War Secretary Pete Hegseth to “substantially reduce” the U.S. role in the training.
Trump framed the move as a response to concerns that the drills struck too confrontational a posture toward North Korea, while also offering warm remarks about North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
U.S. soldiers from the 2nd Infantry Division take part in a river crossing exercise during Ulchi Freedom Shield on Aug. 27, 2025, in Yeoju-gun, South Korea. (Getty Images)
At the Cabinet meeting, Lee stressed that Ulchi Freedom Shield is defensive in nature and not intended as a provocation.
“A strong alliance makes the foundation of security stronger, and strengthening our own capabilities increases our value and necessity as an ally,” Lee said.
Lee said South Korea’s foremost goal remains preserving peace with North Korea, but he warned that Seoul must still be ready for a “worst-case scenario.”
Among the defense priorities he highlighted was the expansion of South Korea’s nuclear-powered submarine program.
North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump meet on the south side of the line that divides North and South Korea, in the Joint Security Area (JSA) of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized zone (DMZ) on June 30, 2019. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump’s statement on Monday, posted to Truth Social, was openly critical of Lee’s administration with respect to North Korea.
“Based on my very good relationship with Kim Jong Un, of North Korea, I am not happy with the fact that the United States has, long ago, agreed to participate in Joint Military Exercises with South Korea,” Trump wrote.
“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, to a Country that, as long as Donald J. Trump has been President, has been unthreatening and respectful.”
Lee’s administration noted the kind words for North Korea in his statement on Tuesday, with Lee’s national security advisor, Wi Sung-lac, remarking that he hopes Trump’s relationship with Kim could lead to lasting change.
Kim Jong Un, left, prepares to shake hands with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the border village of Panmunjom in Demilitarized Zone on April 27, 2018. (Korea Summit Press Pool via AP)
“We hope the friendly relationship between the U.S. and North Korean leaders will lead to meaningful North Korea-U.S. dialogue,” Wi said at a Tuesday briefing.
Trump also took the opportunity to highlight Lee’s apparent refusal to assist the U.S. in the 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.
