Donald Trump has ordered a major reduction in the annual US-South Korea military drills, a day after sharing a throwback photo with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
We “get along GREAT”, the US president said at the time.
Trump said on Monday that the military exercises were “inappropriate and hostile” and ordered US war secretary Pete Hegseth to “substantially reduce” them. He said he was unhappy that the US had agreed to take part in the drills despite his “very good relationship” with Kim. He also brought Iran into the discussion and said South Korea declined to join US efforts aimed at the “Denuclearization of the Islamic Republic of Iran”.
A day later, Trump criticised the military exercises. Trump also criticised South Korea over its stance on Iran. It is aimed at preparing US and South Korean forces for a possible attack by North Korea.
The annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise is scheduled from August 17 to August 27.
“Based on my very good relationship with Kim Jong Un, of North Korea, I am not happy with the fact that the United States has, long ago, agreed to participate in Joint Military Exercises with South Korea,” he said. On Sunday, Trump said he asked South Korean President Lee Jae Myung whether Seoul wanted to join the US in the “Denuclearization of the Islamic Republic of Iran”. “I recently asked the President of South Korea if they would like to join us in the Denuclearization of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and they said, ‘No thanks!’” Trump wrote. South Korea’s defence ministry said the drills had begun and would “proceed as previously notified and scheduled”, AP reported. Its foreign ministry said on Friday that military cooperation between the US, Japan and South Korea was becoming a “nuclear alliance”, Reuters reported.
Trump previously criticised US allies over their support for Washington’s policies, including its war on Iran.
