US, South Korea cut drills early as Trump renews North Korea outreach

Seoul,UPDATED: Aug 19, 2026 14:10 IST

South Korea and the United States have agreed to sharply scale back their ongoing joint military drills at Washington's request, South Korean officials said on Wednesday, in a move that is likely to reflect President Donald Trump's hope of re-engaging with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

The decision means the summertime Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises will now end on Friday instead of August 27. Some joint field training exercises will also be reduced, a step that has raised concerns among experts about military readiness and the long-term strength of the alliance.

Trump had ordered the Pentagon to cut back the drills shortly before they began on Monday for an 11-day run. In a social media post, he said the exercises were not only costly but also "send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile" to North Korea, which he said "has been unthreatening and respectful" during his time in the White House.

He also said he had asked South Korean President Lee Jae Myung if South Korea would join the US in the "denuclearisation" of Iran, adding, "and they said, No thanks!'

South Korea's military said in a statement that the allies had agreed to end the current drills on Friday and to scale back some field exercises. It said South Korea and the US would discuss and carry out various steps to achieve the objectives of the drills and maintain a combined defence posture.

Ulchi Freedom Shield is mainly a computer-simulated command post exercise meant to improve the allies' ability to respond to possible North Korean aggression. South Korea and the US usually hold a set of field training exercises during the same period. This month's drills were reportedly planned in two phases, with the first part until Friday focused on defensive operations in a simulation of North Korean attacks, and the second part until August 27 meant to practise counteroffensive operations. North Korea is especially sensitive to counteroffensive drills.

The exercises, along with a similar spring drill, have long been a central part of the US-South Korea alliance, which dates back to the 1950-53 Korean War. They have also remained a major source of tension with North Korea, which has described them as rehearsals for an invasion and has often answered them with missile launches. Days before this month's drills began, North Korea fired two ballistic missiles into the sea.

Many experts said the latest cut could weaken the allies' defence posture. Yang Uk, an analyst at Seoul's Asan Institute for Policy Studies, said a reduction or suspension matters because commanders change over time. A one-year suspension, he said, would mean commanders unfamiliar with the drills' procedures would be taking part once they resume.

North Korea has not responded directly to Trump's outreach. But earlier on Wednesday, its state news agency KCNA carried a commentary calling the US-South Korea drills "frantic" and "extremely dangerous" and saying it would completely frustrate what it described as hostile actions by its rivals.

"The dangerous escalation of the war drills staged by the US and its vassal forces is posing a more serious threat to the security" of North Korea, the commentary said. "Our exercise of right to self-defence will continue to completely neutralise the enemies' military threat."

Many experts said Kim, emboldened by North Korea's advancing nuclear programme and expanding military cooperation with Russia, was unlikely to return to talks soon unless he was offered bigger concessions. After Trump's earlier outreach, Kim had indicated last year that he could return to talks only if the US dropped its demand that North Korea's denuclearisation should be a precondition for diplomacy.

Trump and Kim met three times between 2018 and 2019, but their diplomacy eventually collapsed over North Korea's demand for broad sanctions relief in return for limited denuclearisation steps. On Monday, Lee's office said it hoped the "friendly relationship" between Trump and Kim would lead to "meaningful dialogue" between their countries to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula. The statement drew strong criticism from conservatives, who said Lee's government was giving priority to reviving Kim-Trump diplomacy over security concerns linked to Trump's decision.

At separate parliamentary hearings on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back said neither South Korean nor US officials had been informed in advance of Trump's move before his social media post. Cho said the alliance remained strong, while Ahn said defence officials from both countries were in close consultation.

Some experts said Trump's decision was more likely aimed at pushing South Korea to offer stronger support over the Iran war than at opening the way for talks with North Korea. "Trump's message is that if you don't cooperate with us on Iran, we're not cooperating you" on the drills either, Yang said. "It's like he's asking South Korea to show it's helping him over Iran" by actions such as sending warships or strengthening missile defences in some areas.

South Korean officials said Seoul and Washington were closely discussing practical and military contributions that South Korea could make to help restore freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. It was not the first time the two allies had cut or cancelled exercises. In 2018, after his first summit with Kim, Trump abruptly announced the cancellation of a major joint war game, calling the exercises "provocative" and saying it would "save us a tremendous amount of money." The two countries later cancelled or reduced other drills to support diplomacy with North Korea and to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, with experts saying those cuts had weakened joint readiness.

The scaled-back exercises have again put the focus on the balance between diplomacy, alliance management and military preparedness, as South Korea, the US and North Korea respond to a fresh turn in tensions around the peninsula.

With PTI Inputs

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