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. He also noted in Truth Social that South Korea had recently refused to join the United States in “denuclearizing” Iran. The drills with the United States would take place “as planned.” Pyongyang has not yet commented. It comes after North Korea conducted ballistic missile tests banned by the United Nations this month. Trump said in his social media post on Sunday that it was “too late to cancel” as the United States and South Korea were due to begin their annual military exercises on Monday. He added: “Although it has nothing to do with it (?), I recently asked the president of South Korea if they would like to join us in denuclearizing the Islamic Republic of Iran, and they said, ‘No, thank you!'” Trump’s announcement came less than 24 hours after posting an old photo of him and Kim from 2018, writing that the two were great friends “despite the hostile look in this particular picture.” Last week, US and South Korean military leaders held a joint press conference to announce the Ulchi Freedom Shield. They said the 11-day event would be similar in scale to previous years, with around 18,000 South Korean troops participating. During the press conference, the military leaders also mentioned the deployment of North Korean troops to assist in Russia’s war against Ukraine. Military spokesman Ryan Donald said “our training poses that threat,” referring to North Korean soldiers returning from the battlefield. About 28,500 U.S. military personnel are stationed in South Korea. On Friday, North Korea’s Foreign Ministry condemned the joint military exercises as “a rehearsal for a war of aggression.” The joint exercises come days after South Korea, the US and Japan detected the second North Korean missile test in days. Pyongyang has accelerated its efforts to expand its nuclear and missile programs since the 2019 collapse of Kim’s high-profile diplomacy with Trump during his first term in the White House. The sitting president of the United States set foot in North Korea when he visited seven years ago. Trump’s scathing comment about South Korea in his social media post appeared to hint at possible frustration with Seoul for refusing to make direct military or logistical contributions to US hostilities with Iran. He has also expressed discontent with other allies for their hesitancy to get involved in the conflict, including Japan, France and the United Kingdom. Trump’s decision to reduce joint military exercises with South Korea is not unprecedented. It suspended the exercises entirely in 2018, during denuclearization negotiations with Kim. Exercises were reduced again in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. Last week, South Korea’s president proposed talks with its northern neighbor to officially end the war between the two, which has technically remained active since an armistice was signed in 1953.
