Trump Cuts South Korea Drills Despite Ukraine-War Warnings
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- Trump ordered Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to "substantially reduce" the Ulchi Freedom Shield drills running through August 27, which were expected to involve ~18,000 South Korean troops plus US forces and personnel from 11 of the 18 UNC member states.
- Trump cited his "very good relationship with Kim Jong-un" and called the exercises costly and "totally inappropriate and hostile," also claiming South Korea refused to help with "the denuclearisation of the Islamic republic of Iran."
- Col Ryan Donald and Lt Gen Scott Winter said this year's scenario would incorporate "drones, GPS disruption [and] cyber-attacks" — threats linked directly to the 14,000+ North Korean soldiers who fought alongside Russian forces in Kursk and brought new tactics home.
- South Korea's Blue House said it was reviewing Trump's post while continuing to coordinate on combined defense posture and military exercises, expressing hope the move would lead to "meaningful dialogue."
- North Korea test-fired ballistic missiles before the exercise and called it "a rehearsal for an aggressive war," warning it would "respond to a new level of a threat with a new level of a deterrent."
- Analysts split: Cheong Seong-chang warned Trump could suspend exercises entirely or cut US troops without consulting Seoul; Lim Eul-chul said Pyongyang would only view full cancellation as meaningful; Leif-Eric Easley called cost savings "marginal" while diplomatic benefits were "doubtful."
Why it matters: Allied commanders had just redesigned these drills to counter the very capabilities North Korean troops brought back from Ukraine — so scaling them back now directly undercuts the exercise built for the evolving threat. The cut also arrives unilaterally, with South Korea's Blue House publicly scrambling to frame it as a diplomatic opening rather than a concession.
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