Trump directs Hegseth to scale back joint military exercises with South Korea
The president’s announcement comes just a day before the joint exercises with a longtime ally were set to kick off.
President Donald Trump directed the Pentagon on Sunday to substantially reduce planned joint military exercises with South Korea, citing South Korea's refusal to assist in denuclearizing Iran. In a statement on Truth Social, Trump labeled the exercises as both expensive and inappropriate, while asserting a "very good relationship" with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The decision, directed at Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who previously praised South Korean leadership for alliance burden-sharing, comes just a day before the exercises were scheduled to begin on Monday. The 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield drills, part of an annual practice to deter North Korean threats, were set to involve around 18,000 South Korean troops and a portion of the 28,500 American troops stationed in the country.
North Korea recently launched a series of ballistic missile tests, interpreted by some as a response to the planned U.S.-South Korea military exercises. The U.S. and South Korea have been conducting joint military exercises for over 70 years, with this year's Ulchi Freedom Shield expected to be the largest. Pentagon officials are considering withdrawing about 4,500 troops from South Korea, potentially redeploying them to other regions in the Indo-Pacific.
Congress has largely opposed plans to reduce the American military presence in South Korea, with last year's national defense authorization act explicitly preventing a decrease below the 28,500 troop threshold.
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