Trump appeases North Korea as Kim steps up his Ukraine aggression
Get the Geopolitics newsletter
Daily geopolitics — wars, elections, sanctions, the diplomatic moves that move markets. Free.
- Donald Trump ordered Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on August 16 to "substantially reduce" the US-South Korea Joint Military Exercises, citing his "very good relationship" with Kim Jong Un and echoing Pyongyang's language that the drills send "a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile."
- North Korea supplied half the munitions Russia used at the Ukrainian front in 2024-2025, per Ukrainian estimates, while Ukrainian and Western intelligence agencies believe Pyongyang is preparing to send an additional 30,000-50,000 troops to Russia.
- Ukraine claimed on August 10 that North Korean ballistic missiles were used in an attack on Zaporizhiya that killed seven and wounded at least 24, part of what Kyiv describes as Pyongyang's ramping weapons deliveries.
- Colonel Ryan Donald, a US military spokesman, said the planned exercises would incorporate "lessons from recent conflicts," noting that DPRK soldiers deployed in Ukraine "took those lessons they learned there and brought them back to North Korea."
- South Korea rejected Trump's accusation that Seoul said "No thanks!" to joining the "Denuclearization of the Islamic Republic of Iran," responding that it had "actively participated" in international ceasefire talks and was consulting with the US on "practical and military contributions."
- The source argues that scaling back the drills gives Pyongyang "a green light to escalate its aggression against Ukraine" while Trump throws "non-nuclear democratic allies in Seoul and Kyiv under the bus" for nuclear-armed autocrats in Moscow, Beijing, and Pyongyang.
Why it matters: The reduction comes as Ukraine estimates North Korea supplied half of Russia's frontline munitions in 2024-2025 and is preparing 30,000-50,000 more troops, meaning the concession directly coincides with an allied adversary's deepening role in a war the US has interests in containing. Trump's public spat with Seoul over Iran also signals to non-nuclear Asian allies that US security guarantees are contingent on political alignment.
Ask SkimNews
