Trump Orders Deep Cut to US-South Korea Military Drills
President Trump has ordered the Pentagon to “substantially reduce” the annual joint military exercises with South Korea, hours before an 11-day drill involving 18,000 South Korean troops was due to begin. He cited Seoul’s refusal to join the war on Iran and his rapport with Kim Jong Un, calling the drills “hostile” to North Korea. The commander of US Forces Korea met South Korean defence officials as President Lee urged stronger independent defence.
The move rattles one of America’s oldest alliances and hands Pyongyang a concession it has long sought without asking anything in return. For Seoul, the message is unmistakable: US security guarantees are now transactional, contingent on falling into line elsewhere, here on Iran. President Lee’s call for self-reliance points to the likely consequence, a South Korea that invests more in its own forces and, some fear, edges toward the nuclear debate that periodically surfaces there. Critics in Washington, including senior Senate Democrats, warn the retreat signals that America’s commitments are negotiable, unnerving allies from Tokyo to Warsaw. Watch how far the drills are cut and whether Japan and other partners recalibrate their own reliance on Washington.