Trump says US to scale back military drills with South Korea after it stayed out of Iran war

President Donald Trump has announced that the United States will significantly reduce joint military exercises with South Korea, citing his strong relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. He expressed concern that these drills, which are costly and perceived as hostile, send the wrong signal to North Korea. The decision comes after North Korea conducted recent ballistic missile tests banned by the UN.

Trump noted that South Korea had declined to join the US in denuclearizing Iran, and he had asked the South Korean president about joining the US in Iran's denuclearization, to which South Korea had responded negatively. Despite the apparent unrelatedness, Trump had previously inquired about South Korea's interest in the denuclearization of Iran.

The Ulchi Freedom Shield military exercise, a significant event involving 18,000 South Korean soldiers, was set to commence on Monday, despite Trump's decision to scale back the drills. The joint military drills have been a point of contention between the US, South Korea, and North Korea, with North Korea condemning the exercises as rehearsals for an aggressive war.

The move to reduce joint military exercises is not unprecedented for Trump, as he had previously suspended them entirely in 2018 and scaled them back in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic.