WASHINGTON — Two senators have sent a letter to U.S. President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth calling on them to reverse their decision to scale back the ongoing South Korea-U.S. military exercise, warning that the cuts could degrade the allies' readiness and send a "wrong" signal to North Korea. Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) sent a letter Tuesday, as Seoul and Washington announced that the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise will be cut short by a week, with associated live-training events having also been reduced. The announcement came after Trump said in a social media post Sunday that he had instructed Hegseth to "substantially" reduce joint exercises with South Korea, noting the drills are not only "costly" but also send a "totally inappropriate and hostile" signal to the North. "We write to express our serious concern regarding the decision to substantially reduce joint military exercises between the United States and the Republic of Korea (ROK) and urge the Administration to maintain the training necessary to preserve the readiness of the U.S.-RO