South Korea and the United States have shortened the duration of their joint military exercises and reduced field training exercises after US President Donald Trump ordered a “substantial reduction” of the annual war games. The Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise, which began on August 17, will be shortened from 11 days to five and will now end on August 21, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said on Tuesday. agreed to Washington’s suggestion, the JCS said, adding that some combined field maneuver training would also be reduced. According to South Korean media, Seoul Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back said the allies were taking steps to cancel the second phase of the exercises, which were expected to include counterattack operations after an initial defensive phase. The changes would preserve essential readiness and training objectives, without degrading US training objectives, the official added. No ‘advance’ notice The changes follow Trump’s order on Sunday to reduce the United States’ role in the exercises, citing his “very good relationship” with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump also linked the decision to Seoul’s refusal to join the US-Israel war against Iran. South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said at a parliamentary hearing on Wednesday that neither South Korean nor American officials had been aware of Trump’s order to scale back joint military exercises. “I believe President Trump’s message includes pressure on several outstanding issues related to the South Korean government, as well as a message to North Korea and an intention by the United States to break the stalemate in the Iran war,” Cho said. Nuclear-armed North Korea has long expressed outrage over the exercises between the United States and South Korea, calling them dress rehearsals for an invasion. denounced the exercises on Wednesday, saying it would continue to exercise its right to self-defense against what it called military threats from Washington and Seoul. Seoul’s presidential office had said Tuesday that the exercises did not reflect “any intention to attack North Korea or escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula.” Meanwhile, Trump said Monday that Kim had responded to his overtures, without revealing the nature of the contact. He insisted he is making the situation “much safer” through his ties to the North Korean leader. The two men met three times during Trump’s first term in the White House, but did not hold talks during his second. The Wall Street Journal reported separately that Trump has pressured his advisers to arrange an in-person meeting with Kim as soon as this fall. Citing U.S. officials, the Journal said Trump has discussed holding talks during a possible trip to Asia in November for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in the Chinese city of Shenzhen. “Critical” that the United States station some 28,500 troops in South Korea to bolster the country’s defenses, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War that ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty. But Trump’s repeated criticism of traditional alliances has cast doubt on America’s security commitments in East Asia and alarmed regional allies. Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi on Tuesday stressed the importance of security cooperation with the United States and South Korea. “As Japan faces the most severe and complicated security environment in the post-war era, cooperation between Japan, the United States and South Korea is critical to the peace and stability of the region,” Koizumi told reporters in Australia. Asked about Trump’s comments, Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said his country was “very concerned about the North. “I think in the challenging world that we face… there are many challenges, but North Korea is the author of quite a few of those challenges,” he added.
