South Korea cuts US joint drills by six days — SkimNews
SkimNews Take
Conditioning the length of a major allied exercise on Seoul's stance toward Iran reframes bilateral military readiness as a flexible bargaining chip in Washington's separate diplomatic pursuits.
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- South Korea’s defence ministry said Washington proposed reducing the period and scale of the 2026 Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise; it will end 21 August instead of 27, while the combined field-training component will be partly reduced with details unresolved.
- US and South Korean military leaders had described Ulchi Freedom Shield as similar in scale to previous years, with about 18,000 South Korean soldiers participating and 28,500 American personnel stationed in the country.
- Trump linked the downsizing to South Korea’s refusal to help in Iran and said he would meet Kim Jong Un later in 2026.
- Cho Hyun said neither South Korean nor US officials knew in advance of Trump’s plan to scale back the exercises.
- Kim Yo-Jong said she knew nothing about reported US-North Korean leader communication, maintained that shorter drills remain hostile in essence, but said Kim had positive memories and views of Trump.
- Ryan Donald said the US training accounts for the threat from North Korean soldiers returning from Russia’s war against Ukraine.
- North Korea’s foreign ministry condemned the joint drills as “a rehearsal for an aggressive war” after the military leaders’ announcement.
Why it matters: For South Korea, the unprecedented six-day curtailment and still-undetermined reduction in field training shake confidence in the US defence commitment at the heart of the alliance, while Washington publicly links its request to cost and Seoul’s refusal to help in Iran.
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