{
  "id": 1364091,
  "title": "Trump praises North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, slashes military drills with Seoul",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/16/trump-praises-north-korean-dictator-kim-jong-un-slashes-military",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-16T22:04:21.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Sydney Morning Herald",
    "slug": "the-sydney-morning-herald",
    "url": "https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/trump-praises-north-korean-dictator-kim-jong-un-slashes-military-drills-with-seoul-20260817-p60ow1.html?ref=rss"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "US President Donald Trump has announced that the US will substantially reduce joint military exercises with South Korea, citing the costly nature of the drills and their hostile signal to North Korea. According to Trump, the exercises, which are set to begin on August 17 and run for 11 days, send a \"totally inappropriate and hostile\" message to a country that has been \"unthreatening and respectful\" during his presidency.\n\nTrump also mentioned his \"very good relationship\" with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as a factor in his decision. He expressed his dissatisfaction with the US's previous agreement to participate in the drills, stating it was too late to cancel them entirely.\n\nThe decision comes after South Korea declined to join the US in the denuclearization of Iran, which Trump had requested. The annual Ulchi Freedom Shield joint military drills are a regular summer fixture for South Korea's armed forces and their US allies, designed to deter rival North Korea.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 6,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "BBC World",
        "title": "Trump says US will scale back military drills with South Korea",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/16/trump-says-us-will-scale-back-military-drills-with-south-korea",
        "published": "2026-08-16T21:27:42.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Hill",
        "title": "Trump directs Hegseth to reduce U.S. joint exercises in South Korea",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/16/trump-directs-hegseth-to-reduce-u-s-joint-exercises-in-south-korea",
        "published": "2026-08-16T21:55:27.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Age",
        "title": "Trump praises North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, slashes military drills with Seoul",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/16/trump-praises-north-korean-dictator-kim-jong-un-slashes-military-1364432",
        "published": "2026-08-16T22:42:16.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Financial Times",
        "title": "Trump says US will scale back military drills with South Korea",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/16/trump-says-us-will-scale-back-military-drills-with-south-korea-1371926",
        "published": "2026-08-16T23:01:17.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "ABC News AU",
        "title": "Trump scales back joint military drills with South Korea, calling them 'hostile'",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/16/trump-scales-back-joint-military-drills-with-south-korea-calling-them",
        "published": "2026-08-16T23:39:59.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}