Trump praises North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, slashes military drills with Seoul

US President Donald Trump has announced that the US will substantially reduce joint military exercises with South Korea, citing his good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The exercises, known as Ulchi Freedom Shield, were set to start on Monday and run for 11 days, with around 18,000 South Korean soldiers participating. According to Trump, the drills are "costly" and send a "totally inappropriate and hostile" signal to North Korea.

Trump made the announcement on his Truth Social platform, stating that he had instructed the Pentagon to reduce the exercises. He also mentioned that South Korea had declined to join the US in efforts to denuclearize Iran, saying "I recently asked the President of South Korea if they would like to join us in the Denuclearization of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and they said, 'No thanks!'".

The decision comes after North Korea conducted ballistic missile tests earlier this month, which are banned by the United Nations. Neither Seoul nor Pyongyang has commented on Trump's announcement. The Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise is a regular summer fixture for South Korea's armed forces and their US allies, designed to prepare them for defence against the nuclear-armed North.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Age, BBC News, Jerusalem Post, New Straits Times, The Sydney Morning Herald — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.