Trump spoke of "good relations" with North Korea and criticised the US-South Korea military exercises

US President Donald Trump has ordered a significant reduction in the participation of American troops in joint exercises with South Korea. He explained his decision by citing the high cost of the exercises and the fact that he considers relations with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to be “very good”. Trump wrote about this on his social media platform, Truth Social.

According to him, Washington had long agreed to take part in joint military exercises with Seoul, but he is now opposed to this format. The US president stated that the manoeuvres are costly, with a significant portion of the expenses borne by the US, and that the exercises themselves send an “inappropriate and hostile signal” to North Korea.

For its part, Reuters reports that, as it was too late to cancel the exercises, Trump said he had instructed Defence Minister Pete Hegset to “significantly scale back” their scope. This refers to the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises, which are due to take place from 17 to 27 August. South Korea, meanwhile, emphasised the importance of maintaining joint defence coordination with the US.

Trump praised his relationship with Kim Jong-un

The US president linked his decision to relations with the North Korean leader. Trump stated that, under his presidency, the DPRK had allegedly “posed no threat” to the US and had “always treated us with respect”.

At the same time, Pyongyang regularly condemns US-South Korean military manoeuvres, viewing them as preparations for a possible conflict. Ahead of the current exercises, North Korea once again threatened retaliatory action, having previously conducted further missile tests in August.

Trump also criticised Seoul over Iran

Separately, Trump stated that he had previously asked South Korean President Lee Jae-myung whether Seoul was prepared to join US actions against Iran as part of the American campaign for its “denuclearisation”. According to Trump, the South Korean side declined. This became yet another reason for his dissatisfaction with the ally.

Joint US-South Korean military exercises are traditionally regarded as one of the key elements of military deterrence against North Korea. Their reduction has already raised questions about the future of defence cooperation between Washington and Seoul, particularly against the backdrop of the ongoing development of North Korea’s missile and nuclear programmes.