U.S. to trim military exercises with South Korea after Trump says Seoul declined to help on Iran while the North is ‘unthreatening and respectful’

President Donald Trump has decided to reduce the scale of upcoming joint military exercises with South Korea, following his assertion that Seoul did not contribute to denuclearizing Iran. The exercises, which are set to commence this week, are expected to cost a significant amount of money and send a "totally inappropriate and hostile" message to North Korea, according to Trump.

He stated that North Korea has been "unthreatening and respectful" during his time in office, leading him to instruct Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to "substantially reduce the Joint Military Exercises."

The planned 11-day exercises, involving 18,000 South Korean soldiers, were intended to enhance readiness against North Korean threats. These drills would have included complex scenarios such as a live-fire exercise, a wet gap crossing, and the distribution of prepositioned military equipment. However, North Korea's Foreign Ministry has denounced the U.S.-South Korean training as a "rehearsal for an aggressive war" that has increased instability in the region.

Trump had previously met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on three occasions during his first term, discussing the North's nuclear program. Trump has shown interest in continuing these discussions since his return to office. It is not the first time Trump has attempted to end the exercises; during his first term, he also declared them "provocative" following a 2018 meeting with Kim Jong Un in Singapore.