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U.S. Forces Korea soldiers move busily near military vehicles at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, on the 17th, as South Korean and U.S. military authorities began the "Ulchi Freedom Shield" (UFS) joint exercise, a regular drill aimed at defending the Korean Peninsula in the event of a contingency. U.S. President Donald Trump said on the 16th (local time) that he had directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to significantly reduce the scale of Korea-U.S. joint military exercises. / Yonhap

U.S. President Donald Trump said on the 16th (local time) via social media platform Truth Social that he had directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to "significantly scale back" the Korea-U.S. joint military exercise.

Trump wrote on Truth Social at 5:04 p.m. that day (6:04 a.m. KST on the 17th) that, given his very good relationship with Kim Jong-un, he doesn't like the fact that the U.S. long ago agreed to participate in joint military exercises with South Korea. He said the exercises are costly, with the U.S. bearing much of that cost, but that it's too late to cancel them entirely — which is why he directed Hegseth to significantly scale them back.

He did not disclose specifics, such as the scope of the reduction or which exercises would be affected. The White House and Pentagon also did not immediately respond to requests for comment, according to Reuters and the Financial Times.

Reuters reported that the Korea-U.S. joint exercise "Ulchi Freedom Shield" (UFS) will run from the 17th through the 27th, with about 18,000 South Korean troops participating. The exercise includes countermeasures against evolving North Korean threats such as drone response, GPS jamming, and cyberattack defense. AP reported that the U.S. military described UFS as reaffirming the Korea-U.S. alliance's role in regional peace and security and both countries' defense commitments. Ahead of UFS, North Korea launched ballistic missiles on the 6th and 12th, and on the 14th condemned the joint exercise as a "rehearsal for a war of aggression," warning of a response.

The day before his announcement, on the 15th, Trump also posted a photo of himself with Kim Jong-un on Truth Social, writing that he and Kim "get along GREAT!" During his first term, at a press conference immediately after the U.S.-North Korea summit in Singapore on June 12, 2018, Trump had also said he would suspend Korea-U.S. joint exercises, claiming it would save enormous costs. At the time, he abruptly announced a "suspension" of the exercises right after the summit; this time, he instead directed a "significant reduction" to UFS, which was already set to begin. Trump met with Kim three times during his first term, but denuclearization negotiations stalled after the Hanoi summit in Vietnam collapsed on February 27-28, 2019.

                                                                                                               Ha Man-ju