South Korea says Trump’s drill cuts seem to be pushing Seoul into war on Iran

South Korea's Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said that US President Donald Trump's order to reduce joint military drills with South Korea appears to be aimed at pressuring Seoul to support US efforts in the Iran war, as well as other pending issues. According to Cho, Trump's message includes pressure on several issues concerning the South Korean government, a message to North Korea, and an intention to break a stalemate in the Iran war.

The joint military drills between South Korea and the US have been scaled back, with the exercises now set to run from August 17 to 21, rather than the originally planned August 17 to 27. The decision was made at the suggestion of the US side, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Pentagon said the reduced drills would preserve essential readiness and not degrade US training objectives.

Cho also mentioned that one potential source of friction between South Korea and the US is Seoul's pledge to invest $350 billion in the US under a trade deal signed last year. However, Cho cited factors such as commercial viability and legal procedures as reasons for the slow progress on the investment plan.

Brief written by urgent.news from Middle East Eye, The Korea Times, Haaretz, Jerusalem Post, Dawn — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.