US President Donald Trump has decided to "substantially reduce" America's joint military exercises with South Korea, citing his "very good relationship" with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. In the same announcement, shared via the 47th US President's preferred social media channel, Truth Social, he noted that South Korea had not joined America in its campaign to denuclearise Iran.
Trump's statement on Truth Social
"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," Trump posted. The US and South Korea are set to start their annual military exercises on Monday, with authorities in Seoul confirming that drills with the US - entitled Ulchi Freedom Shield - would proceed "as scheduled".
Details of the upcoming drills
Last week, US and South Korean military leaders held a joint press conference confirming Ulchi Freedom Shield as an 11-day operation that will be similar in scale to previous years. Roughly 18,000 South Korean soldiers will participate. About 28,500 American military personnel are stationed in South Korea.
Context and reactions
Trump said in his social media post on Sunday that it was "too late to cancel" the drills set to begin on Monday. He added: "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's announcement came less than 24 hours after he posted an old photograph of himself and Kim from 2018, writing the two were great friends "despite the unfriendly look on this particular picture". Both posts follow a Friday statement by North Korea's foreign ministry condemning the joint military drills between Seoul and the US as "a rehearsal for an aggressive war". Pyongyang has not commented on any scaling back of drills between the US and the South since Trump made the comments on Sunday. However, the scaling back of joint exercises between South Korea and the US comes mere days after both nations and Japan detected ballistic missile tests by North Korea that have been banned by the United Nations.
