Hours before 18,000 South Korean troops were due to kick off this year's Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise alongside their American counterparts, President Trump pulled the rug - instructing Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to "substantially reduce the Joint Military Exercises" with Seoul. By Wednesday the allies confirmed the annual drills - the backbone of combined readiness against the North - had been chopped nearly in half, from 11 days to five, with live field-training events canceled or downgraded to computer simulations.
Lee Jae Myung with Donald Trump during a meeting in the Oval Office in August last year. Lee has long wanted to dial down military posturing. Photograph: Alex Brandon/APAccording to Trump, the drills are costly (with Washington footing most of the bill); the exercises send a 'hostile and inappropriate' signal toward a North Korea that has been "unthreatening and respectful" on his watch; and - revenge... Seoul refused to help with the war on Iran. Trump recounted asking President Lee Jae-myung whether South Korea would care to join the denuclearization of the Islamic Republic, and characterized Seoul's answer as a breezy "No thanks!"
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