Trump cuts South Korea military drills after ‘GREAT’ Kim Jong Un post. An Iran angle at play
Trump said the annual US-South Korea military drills were expensive and “totally inappropriate and hostile” to North Korea.
On Monday, US President Donald Trump announced a significant reduction in annual US-South Korea military drills, following a positive post shared with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump described their relationship as "great" and expressed his dissatisfaction with the joint military exercises, deeming them "inappropriate and hostile" to North Korea.
The president directed the US Department of Defense to "substantially reduce" the drills, which were scheduled to begin on August 17 and are set to last until August 27. Trump also brought Iran into the discussion, stating that South Korea had declined to join the US in efforts to denuclearize Iran. South Korea's defence ministry reported that the drills had begun and planned to proceed as scheduled.
North Korea opposes the exercises and considers them preparations for an invasion, stating that the US-Japan-South Korea military cooperation is forming a "nuclear alliance."
Written by urgent.news from Hindustan Times - World News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
Also reported by 1 other outlet
- South Korea says joint drills are on despite Trump objections asia.nikkei.com
