US President Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon to substantially reduce joint military exercises with South Korea shortly before the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield programme began. Trump called the drills costly and hostile toward North Korea, while South Korean officials said training had started according to the previously announced schedule.
Trump said his relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made him unhappy with long-standing US participation. He also criticised Seoul for declining to join US action aimed at denuclearising Iran. Because cancellation was no longer practical, he directed Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to reduce the exercises.
Ulchi Freedom Shield was scheduled to run for 11 days and prepare allied forces for a possible conflict with North Korea. Colonel Ryan Donald of the Combined Forces Command said scenarios would include North Korean troops hardened by deployment alongside Russia in Ukraine. About 18,000 South Korean personnel and US counterparts were to train with emphasis on drones, disruption of GPS and cyberattacks.
South Korea’s defence ministry said the programme began as notified. The presidential office said Seoul remained in close coordination with Washington and hoped Trump’s rapport with Kim could revive dialogue. North Korea had not publicly responded to the reduction order, but it traditionally portrays the exercises as rehearsals for invasion. It recently tested a ballistic missile over the Sea of Japan and warned of a new level of deterrence.
The United States maintains about 28,500 troops in South Korea, an arrangement rooted in the 1950-1953 Korean War, which ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty. Trump’s renewed criticism added to concern among Asian allies about the durability of US commitments as North Korea expanded weapons capabilities and strengthened ties with Russia and China.
Analysts quoted in the published account questioned whether a partial reduction would change Pyongyang’s calculations. Leif-Eric Easley of Ewha Womans University said downsizing could weaken coordination and deterrence. Lim Eul-chul of Kyungnam University said North Korea was unlikely to consider anything short of complete cancellation meaningful.
Beijing said peace, stability and a negotiated settlement on the Korean Peninsula served all parties. The announcement therefore opened an immediate operational question about how commanders would alter exercises already under way, and a broader strategic question about whether smaller drills could encourage talks without reducing readiness. Officials provided no details of which components the Pentagon would remove, so the scale and military effect of Trump’s order remained undetermined.
Trump’s order came after planning, force assignments and public notification had already occurred, limiting immediate cancellation options. Seoul’s statement that training started normally did not contradict the possibility of later cuts. It showed instead that any reduction would have to be implemented during the scheduled programme or affect activities not yet conducted.
