Trump announces reduction of joint military exercises with South Korea

US President Donald Trump has announced a "significant reduction" of joint military exercises with South Korea after the country did not join the US military campaign against Iran. At the same time, he also mentioned his "very good relationship" with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

In a post on the social media Truth Social on Sunday (August 16), Trump said that the joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea are very expensive. The United States bears the bulk of the costs of these exercises. At the same time, he claimed that the exercises send a signal to North Korea that is "inappropriate and hostile."

However, South Korea said that the joint military exercises scheduled with the United States will take place as scheduled.

Trump mentioned in his post that he recently asked the South Korean president about joining the US effort to "denuclearize" Iran. However, he said that Seoul did not agree.

Trump wrote that he asked South Korea if they wanted to join the US effort to stop Iran's nuclear program. They said "no, thank you."

Although Trump himself admitted that the Iran issue was not directly related to the joint military exercises.

The annual US-South Korean military exercises were scheduled to begin on Monday. Trump said it was too late to cancel the exercises. But he indicated that the scale of these exercises would be significantly reduced in the future.

Last week, US and South Korean military officials announced the "Ulchi Freedom Shield" exercise. About 18,000 South Korean troops are expected to participate in the 11-day exercise. Officials said the scale of the exercise would be similar to previous years.

New calculations on North Korea

Less than a day before Trump's announcement, he posted an old photo of himself with Kim Jong Un on social media in 2019. Commenting on the photo, Trump said that although the photo did not show the two as friendly, they were "great friends."

Analysts say Trump's decision to scale back military exercises with South Korea may also be due to his desire to improve relations with North Korea.

Leif-Erik Easley, a professor at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, said that joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea are important for keeping the two countries' forces ready for war. Reducing the exercises could weaken military coordination between the two countries, slow down South Korea's own defense capabilities, and reduce its ability to prevent potential conflicts in Asia.

According to him, the money saved by reducing the exercises is relatively small. On the other hand, there is no guarantee that it will improve diplomatic relations with North Korea.

North Korea's missile test

A few days before the joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea, South Korea, the United States and Japan detected North Korea's second missile test.

This month, North Korea conducted a ballistic missile test in violation of UN sanctions. The country's foreign ministry condemned the US-South Korea joint military exercises on Friday as "aggressive war games".

Meanwhile, US and South Korean military officials have also mentioned the deployment of North Korean troops in Russia's war in Ukraine at a joint press conference. US military spokesman Ryan Donald said that their training plans take into account the potential threat of North Korean troops returning from the battlefield.

There are currently about 28,500 US troops deployed in South Korea.

Trump also suspended the exercises in 2018

This is not the first time Trump has decided to reduce joint military exercises with South Korea. In 2018, he completely suspended the US-South Korea joint military exercises during talks with Kim Jong Un on denuclearization.

At the time, Trump described the exercises as "provocative" towards North Korea and said that stopping the "war games" would save the US a lot of money.

The scale of these military exercises was also reduced during the Corona pandemic in 2020.

Trump's latest statement has created hope and concern for South Korea at the same time. On the one hand, Seoul has long been urging Trump to engage in talks with North Korea. As a result, the mention of Trump's relationship with Kim Jong Un has created the possibility of renewed diplomatic talks.

On the other hand, the message that Trump is unhappy with South Korea's reluctance to provide direct military or logistical support to the US military campaign against Iran has also been clear.

Trump has also criticized other allies, including Japan, France and the UK, for their reluctance to join the Iran conflict.

Seoul's initiative to end the war

In the meantime, last week, the South Korean president proposed talks with North Korea to formally end the war. Although an armistice was signed in 1953, the war between the two Koreas has not officially ended.

Trump has complained several times in the past that the US is not getting enough benefits in exchange for providing security to South Korea. He also expressed dissatisfaction with the number of US troops deployed in South Korea and the US cost of doing so.

However, the US military presence near Seoul is one of the main pillars of the military alliance with the US.