US Cuts South Korea Drills as Trump Pushes for New Kim Talks

By Staff, Agencies

The United States and South Korea will shorten their joint military exercises, days after US President Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon to reduce their scale amid efforts to revive talks with DPRK leader Kim Jong-un.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday that, at Washington’s request, the Ulchi Freedom Shield [UFS] exercise, which began Monday, would end Friday—six days earlier than planned.

The live field-training component will also be partially reduced, with details still under discussion. A Pentagon official confirmed that the US military was “substantially” scaling back the drills.

Trump said Sunday that he was “not happy” with US participation in the exercises, describing them as costly and “hostile” toward Pyongyang while citing his “very good relationship” with Kim.

Meanwhile, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said Seoul had been caught off guard, telling parliament that neither South Korean nor US officials had known about Trump’s decision in advance.

Local media had earlier reported that the exercise’s second phase, involving a simulated counterattack against the DPRK, would be scrapped entirely.

The reduction comes despite a senior UN Command official describing this year’s UFS as “bigger and better than ever.”

The US has maintained forces in South Korea since the Korean War ended with an armistice in 1953, leaving the two Koreas technically at war. Washington and Seoul have since maintained extensive military cooperation and annual exercises.

Previous US reductions or cancellations of joint drills, including after Trump’s first summit with Kim in 2018, were announced before exercises began rather than after they were underway.

At the same time, the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump was urging aides to arrange a meeting with Kim as early as autumn, potentially during a November trip to Asia for the APEC summit in Shenzhen, China. Trump has said Kim responded to his outreach, though he offered no details.

Trump met Kim three times during his first term, including a 2019 meeting at the demilitarized zone. Speculation over another summit has grown since Trump recently shared an old photograph of the two leaders.

However, analysts warn that further concessions could follow if talks resume, including suspending the drills altogether or reducing US troop levels in South Korea without consulting Seoul.

South Korea’s presidential office said it would continue coordinating with Washington, while President Lee Jae Myung has renewed calls for greater military independence.