Trump Orders South Korea Drill Cuts; China Envoy Visits Seoul

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit South Korea for two days from Wednesday, stepping up engagement with Seoul.

Wang will meet South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun to discuss North Korea, bilateral, and global issues, according to South Korea’s Foreign Ministry. This visit follows renewed high-level exchanges after years of friction over Seoul’s deployment of a U.S. missile defense system. The trip comes after President Donald Trump ordered Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to “substantially reduce” joint military exercises with South Korea.

President Trump cited the cost of the drills and his “very good relationship” with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as reasons for the reduction. He described North Korea as “unthreatening and respectful” in a Truth Social post. Trump also accused Seoul of not helping the U.S. in the conflict with Iran, stating, “We have 39,000 soldiers over there guarding you from Kim Jong Un, your next door neighbor, and you’re not going to help us on a very easy military operation in Iran.”

U.S. Forces Korea consists of about 28,500 personnel. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said Tuesday that maintaining peace was “most important” for the country, but it needs to prepare for the “worst case scenario.” Lee stated the annual exercises, known as Ulchi Freedom Shield, are defensive and not intended to attack North Korea or raise tensions.

The joint military exercises started Monday and are scheduled to run until August 27, with about 18,000 South Korean military personnel participating. Pyongyang has long denounced these drills as a rehearsal for invading the North. South Korean officials are closely discussing “practical and military contribution measures” with the U.S. side.