Washington: US President Donald Trump has instructed Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to significantly reduce joint military exercises with South Korea, arguing that the drills are expensive and could send an unnecessarily hostile message to North Korea.
Trump announced the decision in a post on Truth Social, linking it to what he described as his positive relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. He questioned the continued scale of the exercises with South Korea, saying the United States bears a substantial share of the financial burden associated with them.
The US president said he was dissatisfied that Washington had previously committed to conducting the joint exercises and described them as inappropriate given the current relationship he claims to have maintained with Pyongyang.
According to Trump, the drills are not only costly but could also be interpreted as an unfriendly gesture by North Korea. He said that, during his presidency, Kim Jong Un’s government had remained “unthreatening and respectful.”
Trump said the exercises could not be cancelled immediately because preparations were already underway. He therefore directed Hegseth to substantially scale back the planned military activities.
The announcement comes against the backdrop of Trump’s stated efforts to maintain engagement with Kim. The US president has previously highlighted his personal relationship with the North Korean leader as an important element of his approach towards Pyongyang.
In the same post, Trump also referred to a separate discussion with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung concerning participation in US-led efforts related to the denuclearisation of Iran. Trump said South Korea had declined the proposal.
The proposed reduction in military exercises could have implications for the longstanding US-South Korea security partnership, as the joint drills have traditionally been viewed as an important part of maintaining operational readiness between the two allies.
