US President Donald Trump on Sunday ordered the Pentagon to scale back joint military exercises with South Korea, citing South Korea’s refusal to help Iran denuclearise. In a social media post, Trump said the exercises, scheduled to begin this week, are too costly and send a “completely wrong and hostile signal” to North Korea. He added that since he has been in the White House, North Korea’s behaviour has been non-threatening and respectful.
“Therefore, and realising it is too late to cancel them, I have directed Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to scale back the joint military exercises significantly,” Trump wrote.
Joint Operations Exercise
The 11-day exercise, involving 18,000 South Korean troops, was intended to strengthen preparedness against threats from North Korea. According to the US military, the US and South Korean forces were to practice joint operations under difficult conditions. This included live-fire exercises to test precision targeting and manoeuvrability, crossing a water barrier, and the distribution of pre-positioned military equipment.
Photo Post with Kim Jong-un
A day earlier, Trump had posted a photo of himself with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un. He wrote that the two leaders have a very good relationship, even though they don’t appear friendly in this particular photo. North Korea’s Foreign Ministry has described the US and South Korean training as preparations for an aggressive war, sparking a new phase of instability in the region.
Nuclear Program Discussion
Trump met with the North Korean leader three times during his first term to discuss the country’s nuclear program. The last of these meetings took place in 2019. Since returning to power, Trump has expressed interest in continuing those discussions.
We will stop the war exercises: Trump.
This is not the first time Trump has tried to end these exercises. Even during his first term, he abruptly declared that these exercises were provocative. After a 2018 meeting with Kim Jong-un in Singapore, Trump told reporters, “We’ll stop the exercises, which will save us a lot of money, unless future negotiations are the way they should be.”
