The ongoing joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea are being paused, both countries said, after President Donald Trump ordered them to be scaled back, citing his “very good” relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The surprise announcement sparked suggestions that Trump may want to revive his attempt to strike a grand deal with Kim over his isolated regime’s nuclear arsenal. Trump is open to another meeting with Kim at the “appropriate time,” a White House official told NBC News, but no date has been set and no formal planning for a possible visit has begun. The president is expected to travel to Asia this fall to attend several summits, including the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Shenzhen, China, in November, but it is unclear whether a potential meeting would be set at that time. However, Kim’s powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong, dampened hopes of a resumption of diplomacy. between Trump and his brother, saying he was not aware of any communication between the two nations in comments carried by state media. Regarding the reduction of military exercises between the United States and South Korea, “we believe that it is not worth commenting on it and we have no interest in it,” he said. “The provocative and aggressive nature of the exercises will not change even though their duration and size were reduced.” Trump, who met with Kim three times during his first term, has publicly reflected on resuming their previous diplomacy, which collapsed in 2019. The Wall Street Journal was the first to report on the possible meeting with Kim. 27 as originally planned, a Defense Department official said. “Associated live training events have been reduced, with certain events canceled or converted to simulations,” the official said, adding that the adjustments “preserve essential readiness.” “Going forward, the ROK and the United States will discuss and implement various measures to achieve the objectives of the UFS exercise and maintain a strong combined defense posture,” the ministry said, using an abbreviation of South Korea’s formal name, the Republic of Korea. The ministry declined to comment on a meeting reported Tuesday. between General Xavier Brunson, commander of US Forces Korea, and South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back. Trump’s surprise comments, which he made on social media hours before the exercises began on Monday, have rattled South Korea, which relies heavily on the United States for its security, as well as other U.S. allies in the region that face a growing threat from nuclear-armed North Korea. South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said Ahn had been “in close consultation with the US side” since Trump’s social media post. He told lawmakers Wednesday that “neither our government nor U.S. government officials had prior knowledge” of Trump’s order to scale back the exercises. According to U.S. Forces Korea, the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise with South Korea, which hosts 28,000 U.S. troops, aims to foster understanding between the two militaries to ensure their “ability to strengthen the combined defense posture” and improve their response to “a spectrum of security threats.” advanced its nuclear and missile capabilities and developed a close security relationship with Russia. Although the United States and South Korea say their exercises are defensive in nature, North Korea routinely criticizes them as a rehearsal for an invasion and often tests weapons in protest. In his post on Sunday, Trump said the exercises sent a “totally inappropriate and hostile” message to North Korea, which he said had been “non-threatening and respectful” during his time in office. He also expressed anger at South Korea’s level of involvement in the US-Israel war against Iran and said he had ordered Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to “substantially reduce” the exercises. Kim, whose position has strengthened considerably since Trump’s first term, has rejected recent proposals by the US president and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, who said they will not come to the table unless they drop their demands that North Korea denuclearize first. Trump told reporters on Monday that he was not sacrificing the security of U.S. allies to curry favor with North Korea and was actually “making it much safer.” He said Kim had responded to his approach, without providing details. “I understand him; he understands me,” Trump said.
