Trump says he instructed Pentagon chief to ‘substantially’ reduce South Korea-US military drills

Washington, Aug 17 (IANS) US President Donald Trump said Sunday (local time) that he has instructed the Pentagon chief to “substantially” reduce joint US-South Korea military exercises, noting that those exercises are not only “costly” but also send a “totally inappropriate and hostile” signal to North Korea.

Trump made the remarks in a social media post as Seoul and Washington are set to kick off their annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise this week, which Pyongyang has long decried as war rehearsals, Yonhap news agency reported.

“Based on my very good relationship with Kim Jong Un, of North Korea, I am not happy with the fact that the United States has, long ago, agreed to participate in Joint Military Exercises with South Korea,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“These exercises are not only costly, with much of these costs paid for by the United States of America (as usual!), but send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile, to a Country that, as long as Donald J. Trump has been President, has been unthreatening and respectful,” he added.

He then noted, “Based on the fact that it is too late to cancel, I have instructed Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to substantially reduce the Joint Military Exercises!”

He also said that he had recently asked South Korean President Lee Jae Myung if Seoul would like to join the effort to denuclearise Iran, and was told, “No thanks.” He did not elaborate further.

“While somewhat unrelated, I recently asked the President of South Korea if they would like to join us in the Denuclearization of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and they said, ‘No thanks!’” Trump wrote.

The annual Ulchi Freedom Shield joint military exercises are scheduled to run from August 17 to 27, with about 18,000 South Korean military personnel participating. The drills are expected to include operations to counter drones, disrupt GPS signals and cyberattacks to adapt to North Korea’s evolving capabilities, officials said last week.

–IANS

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