Why Trump ordered the Pentagon to slash joint exercises with South Korea
Christian Science Monitor · C · trust 60/100
| Lee Jin-man/AP/File A vehicle from the U.S. Army's Stryker Brigade Combat Team crosses a floating bridge on the Namhan River during joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises, Aug. 27, 2025. Loading...
Annual U.S.-South Korea military exercises kicked off Monday in the shadow of a surprise announcement from President Donald Trump that signals shifting U.S. tactics in the Pacific.
In a social media post Sunday evening, Mr. Trump said he was ordering the Pentagon to scale back on drills aimed at deterring military aggression by North Korea. He said it was too late to cancel them altogether, but that he was “not happy” with U.S. participation in annual military exercises that go back decades. The president also criticized South Korea for not joining the U.S. war against Iran.
Mr. Trump said his decision was “based on my very good relationship with Kim Jong Un,” the North Korean dictator whom he met with three times during his first term.
President Donald Trump’s announcement that he is scaling back U.S. participation in long-standing, joint military drills in South Korea is another example of Washington’s willingness to turn away from traditional allies. It also shows how faraway wars might be reshaping security dynamics in the Pacific.
“Trump has been clear about his desire to meet Kim again,” says Victor Cha of Georgetown University, who also served as President George W. Bush’s top adviser on North Korean affairs. “Scaling down of the [joint military exercises] is the latest signal. What’s different this time is that it is a concrete action rather than just words and social media posts.”
It was not immediately clear to what extent this year’s exercises would be limited. The United States has more than 28,000 troops stationed in South Korea. Regarding the drills, one of the top U.N. commanders on the peninsula, Australian Lt. Gen. Scott Winter, said last week that this year’s would be “bigger and better than ever.” South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff report that exercises began as scheduled.
A statement issued by South Korea’s presidential Blue House on Monday said it was reviewing Mr. Trump’s announcement and “hopes that the friendly relationship between the U.S. and North Korean leaders will lead to meaningful dialogue ... aimed at advancing peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.”
But some experts say South Korean leaders must be frustrated with the way this has played out, at a time when the alliance with the U.S. has come under strain .
“I think the announcement was a slap in the face for Seoul,” says Rachel Minyoung Lee, a senior fellow with the Stimson Center’s Korea Program and 38 North . Alongside the tariffs that President Trump has imposed on South Korea, Ms. Lee says this episode will end up further eroding U.S. credibility as a reliable security partner for South Korea.
The government in North Korea, meanwhile, has long complained that annual U.S.-South Korean military exercises demonstrate hostility toward Pyongyang. On Friday, its foreign ministry called the drills, scheduled to run through Aug. 27, “a rehearsal for an aggressive war.”
The U.S. president might also be trying to draw Mr. Kim away from Russian leader Vladimir Putin, as North Korea expands its role in Russia’s war against Ukraine, says Professor Cha.
Deepen your worldview with Monitor Highlights.
Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads .
There's a world of new ideas in every Books newsletter .
There’s more to life, enrich yours with Culture & Learning weekly.
Follow humanity’s discoveries with Science & Nature stories in your inbox.
Gain a spiritual perspective from the stories in your inbox.
Want to understand the deeper impact of critical events? Learn the Monitor’s insight.
Get the Monitor Stories you care about delivered to your inbox.
Thank you for signing up for a free Monitor Newsletter!
“But Kim may not be interested in meeting until after the midterms to gain some additional leverage,” he says.
There could be one other factor behind the president’s decision, Professor Cha adds. “Trump may want to change the headlines from Iran to something else.”
Monitor journalism changes lives because we open that too-small box that most people think they live in. We believe news can and should expand a sense of identity and possibility beyond narrow conventional expectations.
Our work isn't possible without your support.
We want to hear, did we miss an angle we should have covered? Should we come back to this topic? Or just give us a rating for this story. We want to hear from you.
Read the original at Christian Science Monitor →
Open in TruthVane →