Trump orders US military to reduce drills with South Korea, says they send ‘hostile’ signal

US President to substantially reduce planned joint military exercises with South Korea, just as the annual drills were set to begin. Trump linked the decision to his relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and also criticised South Korea for declining to support US efforts to denuclearise Iran.

The announcement came on Sunday, August 16, ahead of the 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises, which were scheduled to begin on August 17. Around 18,000 South Korean troops were expected to participate in the drills, which are designed to strengthen the allies' readiness against potential threats from North Korea.

Trump said he had instructed Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to “substantially reduce” the joint exercises, arguing that the drills were expensive and could send an inappropriate signal to North Korea. In a social media post, Trump pointed to his relationship with Kim Jong Un and said North Korea had been “unthreatening and respectful” during his presidency. He also argued that the exercises could be perceived as hostile by Pyongyang.

Trump acknowledged that the drills were already due to begin and said it was too late to cancel them completely. Instead, he directed the Pentagon to scale them back.

Trump also brought South Korea's position on Iran into his explanation for the move. He said he had recently asked South Korean President Lee Jae Myung to join the US in efforts to denuclearise Iran, but claimed Seoul declined. Trump wrote that the two issues were “somewhat unrelated” before nevertheless mentioning South Korea's refusal as part of his reasoning for reducing the military exercises.  The decision comes as Washington's relationship with some of its allies has faced tensions over support for US military operations and foreign policy priorities.

Ulchi Freedom Shield is an annual US-South Korea military exercise intended to strengthen the two allies' combined defence readiness. The 2026 drills were scheduled to run for 11 days, with around 18,000 South Korean troops taking part. The exercises include live, virtual, constructive and field-based training designed to prepare forces for complex scenarios involving North Korean threats.

Planned activities include a live-fire exercise to test joint precision targeting and manoeuvres, a wet-gap crossing and the distribution of pre-positioned military equipment.

US and South Korean forces have described the exercises as defensive in nature and aimed at maintaining the alliance's readiness.

Trump's announcement comes just days after North Korea criticised the planned exercises and threatened unspecified “stern” measures against the US and South Korea. Pyongyang has described the annual drills as a rehearsal for an aggressive war. Such warnings have frequently preceded US-South Korean military exercises, while North Korea has also used previous drills as a justification for weapons tests.

North Korea recently resumed ballistic missile testing after a pause. South Korea, the US and Japan detected a short-range ballistic missile launch earlier this month, marking Pyongyang's first ballistic weapons test since late June, according to the report.

Trump's latest decision also comes a day after he shared a photograph of himself with Kim Jong Un and referred to their relationship positively. The two leaders met three times during Trump's first presidential term to discuss North Korea's nuclear programme. Their diplomacy ultimately broke down in 2019, after which North Korea continued expanding its nuclear and missile capabilities.

Since returning to the White House, Trump has again expressed interest in reviving discussions with Kim.

This is not the first time Trump has sought to scale back or halt US-South Korea military exercises. During his first term, Trump announced after his 2018 summit with Kim in Singapore that the US would stop what he called “war games”, describing them as costly and provocative. He had said the exercises could resume if negotiations with North Korea failed to progress.

The latest announcement therefore marks a return to an approach Trump has taken before, although it comes at a time when North Korea has resumed missile testing and expanded its military cooperation with Russia.