President Donald Trump has ordered the Pentagon to substantially reduce joint military exercises with South Korea, saying the drills are costly, send an inappropriate signal to North Korea and come despite Seoul refusing to assist the United States with the Iran conflict, with the president defending the decision when asked during questions in the oval Office on Monday.
The order came just hours before the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises were scheduled to begin. The drills, which involve around 18,000 South Korean troops, are designed to prepare the two allies for potential North Korean attacks. Trump announced the decision in a post on Truth Social, where he pointed to his relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and criticized the longstanding exercises.
"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. These exercises are not only costly, with much of these costs paid for by the United States of America (as usual!), but send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile, to a Country that, as long as Donald J. Trump has been President, has been unthreatening and respectful.
"Therefore, and based on the fact that it is too late to cancel, I have instructed Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to substantially reduce the Joint Military Exercises! While somewhat unrelated (?), 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!” Thank you for your attention to this matter."
Asked about the decision Monday, Trump expanded on his concerns about the US military commitment to South Korea. "Look, South Korea has been protected by us for many, many years," Trump said. He said that during his first term, Seoul agreed to pay "close to $3 billion a year for protection," after he had initially asked for $10 billion.
Trump then tied the issue to the US war against Iran, saying he recently asked South Korea's president to help. "He said, no thanks," Trump said. "And I said, wait a minute, we have 39,000 soldiers over there guarding you from Kim Jong-un, your next-door neighbor, and you're not going to help us on a very easy military operation in Iran?"
"That's strange," Trump continued, saying South Korea responded, "No, no, we'd rather not get involved. I said, well, why are we involved in helping you?" Trump also compared the arrangement to the US commitment to NATO, saying, "We spent hundreds of billions of dollars protecting Europe from Russia. So all I want is fairness," he said. The US-South Korea alliance dates to the Korean War, after North Korean forces invaded the South on June 25, 1950. A US-led United Nations coalition fought to defend South Korea until an armistice was signed in 1953. The two countries then signed the Mutual Defense Treaty on October 1, 1953, establishing the foundation for the alliance.
The US has maintained forces in South Korea for decades as part of its commitment to deter North Korean aggression.
The order came just hours before the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises were scheduled to begin. The drills, which involve around 18,000 South Korean troops, are designed to prepare the two allies for potential North Korean attacks. Trump announced the decision in a post on Truth Social, where he pointed to his relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and criticized the longstanding exercises.
"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. These exercises are not only costly, with much of these costs paid for by the United States of America (as usual!), but send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile, to a Country that, as long as Donald J. Trump has been President, has been unthreatening and respectful.
"Therefore, and based on the fact that it is too late to cancel, I have instructed Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to substantially reduce the Joint Military Exercises! While somewhat unrelated (?), 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!” Thank you for your attention to this matter."
Asked about the decision Monday, Trump expanded on his concerns about the US military commitment to South Korea. "Look, South Korea has been protected by us for many, many years," Trump said. He said that during his first term, Seoul agreed to pay "close to $3 billion a year for protection," after he had initially asked for $10 billion.
Trump then tied the issue to the US war against Iran, saying he recently asked South Korea's president to help. "He said, no thanks," Trump said. "And I said, wait a minute, we have 39,000 soldiers over there guarding you from Kim Jong-un, your next-door neighbor, and you're not going to help us on a very easy military operation in Iran?"
"That's strange," Trump continued, saying South Korea responded, "No, no, we'd rather not get involved. I said, well, why are we involved in helping you?" Trump also compared the arrangement to the US commitment to NATO, saying, "We spent hundreds of billions of dollars protecting Europe from Russia. So all I want is fairness," he said. The US-South Korea alliance dates to the Korean War, after North Korean forces invaded the South on June 25, 1950. A US-led United Nations coalition fought to defend South Korea until an armistice was signed in 1953. The two countries then signed the Mutual Defense Treaty on October 1, 1953, establishing the foundation for the alliance.
The US has maintained forces in South Korea for decades as part of its commitment to deter North Korean aggression.
