President Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon on Sunday (August 16, 2026) to scale back planned joint military exercises with South Korea after he said South Korea declined to help denuclearise Iran. U.S.
Mr. Trump has been in the White House.
Trump said in a social media post that the exercises slated to begin this week are costly and “send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile” to North Korea, which he said “has been unthreatening and respectful” while Mr.
Trump met with the reclusive North Korean leader three times during his first term to discuss the country’s nuclear programme, most recently in 2019. Mr. Since returning to office, Trump has expressed interest in continuing those discussions.
U.S. and South Korean forces were expected to practise joint operations in complex scenarios, including a live-fire exercise to test joint precision targeting and manoeuvre, a wet gap crossing, and distribution of prepositioned military equipment, according to the U.S. military. North Korea’s Foreign Ministry has called the U.S.-South Korean training “a rehearsal for an aggressive war” that is triggering a different level of instability in the region.
