Trump Scales Back South Korea Drills, Seeks Kim Jong Un Meeting

US President Donald Trump praised North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and rebuked South Korea, ordering the Pentagon to scale back military drills with Seoul.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed that the Ulchi Freedom Shield joint military drills would end on August 21, six days earlier than originally planned. The JCS stated this adjustment was in response to a US proposal, with allies agreeing to modify the exercise's duration and scale. Trump announced his order on Sunday, criticizing the annual military exercise as inappropriate and hostile toward North Korea.

He cited his very good relationship with Kim Jong Un as a basis for his decision and linked the drill reduction to Seoul's refusal to assist his war effort in Iran. North Korea described Ulchi Freedom Shield as an open threat this week. South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun stated Seoul received no warning of Trump's plan to cut drills, though Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back was in close consultations with Washington regarding the changes.

Trump met Kim three times during his first term. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung stressed the US alliance and called for Seoul to retake full control of its military operations from the US. The drills have anchored the US-South Korean alliance for over 70 years, dating back to the 1950-53 Korean War. Victor Cha, Korea chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Trump sees the drill reduction as a way to pressure Seoul on investment and burden-sharing, and offer Kim incentives for diplomacy. A Defense Department official stated that despite reductions, there will be no degradation to U.S. training objectives.