US-led drills to end six days early, South Korea says, amid Trump push for Kim Jong-un talks

South Korea’s military has announced that the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise will end six days earlier than planned, on 21 August, at the request of the United States. The joint military drills with the US will be shortened, as confirmed by the South Korean joint chiefs of staff. The Pentagon later confirmed that the US military was "substantially" reducing joint exercises with South Korea, following President Trump's directive to scale back the drills.

Trump expressed dissatisfaction with the US participation in the exercise, citing a "very good relationship" with North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un, and describing the drills as costly and "hostile" toward Pyongyang. South Korea's foreign minister, Cho Hyun, revealed that the government was caught off guard by Trump's directive, as neither Seoul nor US officials had been informed in advance.

The Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise, which began on Monday, would also see its simulated counterattack against North Korea, a move Pyongyang fiercely opposes, being scrapped entirely due to the early end. The US military presence in South Korea dates back to the Korean War, and the two nations have been engaged in close military cooperation, including large-scale annual joint exercises.

Previous cuts and cancellations to such exercises, such as in 1992, 1994, and after Trump's initial summit with Kim in 2018, were all decided before the drills commenced. Reports suggest that Trump is pushing for a meeting with Kim Jong-un as early as the autumn, potentially during his Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in November.