US, South Korea Trim Joint Drills to Five Days After Trump Directive
Seoul and Washington have cut the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise to five days and reduced field training following a US order to substantially reduce participation.
South Korea and the United States have shortened their annual joint military exercise, Ulchi Freedom Shield, to five days from the originally scheduled 11, and will scale back some field training. The decision follows a directive from President Donald Trump to substantially reduce US involvement in the drills.
The exercise, which began on August 17, will now conclude on August 21 instead of the planned August 27. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed the adjustment, noting that the second phase of the exercise, which was expected to involve counterattack operations, has been cancelled. Some combined field manoeuvre training will also be reduced, though specific details are still being finalised.
A US Department of Defense official said the department had significantly reduced the exercise and associated live-training events, with some activities cancelled or converted to simulations. The official added that the changes would preserve essential readiness and training objectives without degradation.
South Korean Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back said the allies were moving to cancel the second phase, according to South Korean media. The announcement comes after Trump's order on Sunday to "substantially reduce" US participation, citing his "very good relationship" with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
North Korea again denounced the drills on Wednesday, with state media KCNA reporting that Pyongyang would continue exercising its right to self-defence against what it called military threats from Washington and Seoul. A KCNA commentary labelled the allies "warmongers" raising tensions on the peninsula, but did not mention Trump or the reported reduction plans.
Separately, the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump has pushed aides to arrange an in-person meeting with Kim as soon as this autumn, possibly during a November trip to Asia for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, China. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. Trump said on Monday that Kim had responded to his outreach, without disclosing details.
South Korea's Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said at a parliamentary hearing on Wednesday that neither South Korean nor US officials had been aware in advance of Trump's order. President Lee Jae Myung said on Tuesday the exercises were defensive and that Seoul had no intention of using them to attack North Korea or heighten tensions.
The uncertainty over the drills comes as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visits South Korea for talks expected to cover Korean Peninsula developments and regional security issues.