[Sportschosun Jang Jong-ho] Reports say that U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered a major reduction in South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises.
Tensions surrounding the ROK-U.S. Alliance are rising after he cited his good relationship with Chairman of the State Affairs Commission Kim Jong Un and even pointed to South Korea's failure to cooperate with U.S. requests related to IRAN.
According to CNN and other foreign media outlets, President Trump wrote on his social media account on the morning of the 17th that the joint military exercises conducted by the two countries are "expensive, and the United States bears a large share of that cost." He also claimed they send "an inappropriate and hostile signal to North Korea."
He also said that, given his "very good relationship with Kim Jong Un," he is not satisfied with the long-standing U.S. participation in joint military drills with South Korea.
President Trump said he had instructed Minister of National Defense Pete Hegseth to "significantly scale back" the South Korea-U.S. joint exercises. He added that it was already too late to cancel the drills entirely.
He also raised concerns about South Korea's policy toward IRAN. Trump claimed that he recently asked the South Korean president whether South Korea would join the United States in denuclearizing IRAN, but that Seoul replied, "No thanks."
As the United States continues to demand support from its allies while waging war with IRAN, Trump cited South Korea's refusal as one of the reasons for reducing military cooperation between the two countries.
Since taking office, President Trump has repeatedly emphasized his relationship with Chairman Kim Jong Un. This time as well, he referred to Kim and said North Korea was "not threatening and showed respect" during his presidency.
The annual South Korea-U.S. joint exercise, Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS), is scheduled to run from the 17th to the 27th.
According to the latest reports, about 18,000 South Korean troops will take part in this year's exercise. The drills will include responses to the changing security environment, such as drones, Global Positioning System (GPS) jamming, and cyber threats.
Meanwhile, President Trump's remarks resemble his actions during his first term.
After the 2018 North Korea-United States Singapore Summit, Trump took steps to suspend or scale back large-scale military exercises on the Korean Peninsula, while also raising the issue of training costs.
In 2019, the United States and South Korea also agreed to restructure their large annual drills into smaller exercises. At the time, Trump likewise cited the heavy financial burden borne by the United States as a reason for reducing the exercises.
As President Trump orders a reduction in South Korea-U.S. joint exercises while emphasizing his relationship with Chairman Kim Jong Un, attention is turning to whether this could affect future prospects for renewed North Korea-U.S. talks and the military role of the ROK-U.S. Alliance.
Jang Jong-ho, Reporter bellho@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
