Trump Orders the Pentagon to "Substantially Reduce" Joint Exercises With South Korea, Citing His Relationship With Kim Jong Un and Seoul's Refusal to Join the Iran War — Drawing Bipartisan Backlash
On Sunday, August 16, 2026, hours before the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise was set to begin, President Trump posted on Truth Social that he had instructed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to "substantially reduce" the joint military exercises the United States conducts with South Korea. He said the drills were costly and sent a signal "totally inappropriate and hostile" to North Korea, which he described as "unthreatening and respectful" during his time in office, and he grounded the decision in his "very good relationship" with Kim Jong Un. Trump added a second rationale in the same post: he had recently asked South Korean President Lee Jae Myung to join the US in the "Denuclearization of the Islamic Republic of Iran," and Seoul had declined. Ulchi Freedom Shield, a roughly ten-day exercise focused on cyberattacks, drone activity and GPS disruption, began Monday, August 17 — too late to cancel outright, which is why the order was to shrink it rather than scrap it. South Korea's defense ministry said it would "proceed as previously notified and scheduled," and President Lee's office said the two governments had "maintained close coordination." The backlash was bipartisan. Sen. Jack Reed, the ranking Democrat on Senate Armed Services, called it "another inane, haphazard decision" and warned that China and Russia were watching. Republican Sen. Thom Tillis said cutting the drills does nothing but free up North Korean troops fighting for Russia in Ukraine. Sen. Mark Kelly, a Navy veteran, called it "shortsighted and a mistake." Sen. Andy Kim objected to the unilateral, social-media announcement of a joint decision, and Reps. Frank Pallone and Pramila Jayapal accused the president of appeasing a dictator. As of publication no Republican member of Congress had gone on record defending the decision. The move revives objections Trump raised in his first term, when he suspended major drills after his 2018 Singapore summit with Kim, and lands as US military hardware has been pulled from the Indo-Pacific for the war against Iran.
“I know Kim Jong Un very well, and he’s going to be fine. As long as we have a smart president, he’s going to be fine.”