Trump cuts joint exercises with Seoul, cites costs and Kim relationship

President Donald Trump has ordered a significant scaling back of the joint military exercises currently underway with South Korea. He directed Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to cut the drills down sharply, though he acknowledged it was too late to call them off altogether.

Explaining the decision on Truth Social, “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,” wrote Trump.

He added that his good relationship with Kim Jong Un had left him uneasy about the exercises Washington had long ago committed to.

The decision appears to stem from a mix of financial concerns, personal diplomacy and geopolitical setbacks. Trump pointed to the cost of the drills and his desire to preserve ties with Pyongyang, but his irritation ran deeper. He has been openly critical of Seoul's refusal to help the United States in its war with Iran, revealing that he had asked President Lee Jae Myung to join American efforts to denuclearise Tehran, only to be turned down. The latest decision could be retaliation for that refusal, and it also looks like a calculated distraction from the costs of the war in Iran ahead of the midterm polls.

The exercises in question, known as Ulchi Freedom Shield, are an annual 11-day drill involving around 18,000 South Korean troops alongside elements of the 28,500 American soldiers stationed in the country, together with personnel from 11 member states of the United Nations Command. The ongoing exercises carry particular weight, as they are designed specifically to counter battlefield tactics North Korean troops have picked up while fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine, including new drone tactics, GPS disruption, electronic warfare and cyberattacks.

Pyongyang has been really unhappy about the drills. Its foreign ministry condemned the exercises as a rehearsal for an aggressive war, and North Korea showed its displeasure by testing two ballistic missiles off its east coast earlier this month, warning that it would meet any new level of threat with a new level of deterrence.

Seoul, for its part, has responded with quiet defiance. The South Korean defence ministry confirmed the exercises had begun on schedule and would continue as previously notified, despite Trump’s remarks. Officials reiterated that the drills remain defensive in nature and essential to maintaining military readiness against genuine threats.

Trump's order, which reportedly caught even the Pentagon off guard, raises awkward questions about the stability of the Korean Peninsula. It is likely to reopen debate over whether reduced joint training weakens allied deterrence at a moment when Pyongyang is expanding its nuclear and missile programmes and gaining real combat experience in Ukraine, with more than 14,000 North Korean troops reportedly deployed to the Kursk region. The move has also fuelled speculation that Trump is preparing the ground for a return to personal diplomacy with Kim, echoing the summits of 2018 and 2019.

The wider fallout may prove more consequential than the drills themselves. Trump's description of North Korea as unthreatening and respectful has unsettled allies who have watched Kim modernise his nuclear arsenal and deepen a strategic partnership with Russia. The episode has sharpened anxieties across Asia about Washington's long-term commitment to the region and its willingness to stand up to China. The anxiety is compounded by American weapons shortages and the redirection of military resources toward the Middle East, leaving partners such as Japan and South Korea feeling increasingly exposed. Trump has shown similar irritation with the UK and France over their reluctance to involve themselves in the Iran conflict, hinting at a more transactional approach that could test the foundations of America's alliance network.