Trump scales back Seoul drills, claims Kim responded
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- Trump told reporters Monday that Kim Jong Un has replied to his recent overtures, calling their talks "very positive," though he provided no further detail on the stage or content of the exchanges.
- Trump on Sunday ordered the Pentagon to scale back US-South Korea military drills, posting on Truth Social that the exercises were "inappropriate and hostile" and tying the move directly to Seoul's refusal to help with the US-Israeli war against Iran.
- Trump publicly rebuked South Korea over the Iran conflict, asking: "We have 39,000 soldiers over there, guarding you from Kim Jong Un... and you're not going to help us on a very easy military operation in Iran. That's strange," and again questioned broader US support for allies who refuse to contribute.
- The 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises — simulating combat against North Korean troops hardened by deployment alongside Russia in Ukraine — are proceeding as planned despite Trump's order, with South Korea's presidential office saying it remains in "close coordination" with Washington.
- North Korea recently test-fired a ballistic missile over the Sea of Japan and warned Friday it could respond to the drills with a "new level of deterrent," though it has not publicly addressed Trump's latest overture.
- Jack Reed, the Senate Armed Services Committee's ranking Democrat, called Trump's decision "another inane, haphazard decision" and warned that China and Russia are "watching how easily this president abandons America's allies."
- The drawdown announcement coincides with the redeployment of the USS George Washington — the sole US carrier currently in the Pacific — to the Middle East to relieve the long-deployed USS Lincoln, which has faced mental health and supply issues.
Why it matters: Trump is openly conditioning US security guarantees in Asia on allies joining his Iran war: he scales back 28,500-troop-era drills with Seoul specifically because South Korea won't fight Tehran. That weaponizes the alliance, and Reed is right that Beijing and Moscow are reading the signal — it's also why Pyongyang can accelerate its missile tests while Trump plays personal envoy.
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