Trump says US to scale back military drills with South Korea after it stayed out of Iran war

Conflict Background & Triggers

Image source, Getty Images By Brandon Drenon Reporting from Washington DC Published 16 August 2026 Updated 24 minutes ago President Donald Trump has said the US will "substantially reduce" joint military exercises with South Korea, citing his "very good relationship" with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un. He also noted on Truth Social that South Korea had recently declined to join the US in the "denuclearisation" of Iran. "These exercises are not only costly, with much of these costs paid

for by the United States of America (as usual!), but send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile," Trump posted. Seoul said the drills with the US would proceed "as scheduled". It comes after North Korea this month conducted ballistic missile tests banned by the United Nations. Trump said in his social media post on Sunday that it was "too late to cancel", as the US and South Korea were due to start their annual military exercises on Monday.

Operational Developments & Terrain

He added: "While somewhat unrelated (?), I recently asked the President of South Korea if they would like to join us in the Denuclearization of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and they said, 'No thanks!'" Trump's announcement came less than 24 hours after he posted an old photograph of himself and Kim from 2018, writing the two were great friends "despite the unfriendly look on this particular picture". Last week, US and South Korean military leaders held a joint press

conference announcing Ulchi Freedom Shield. They said the 11-day event would be similar in scale to previous years, with about 18,000 South Korean soldiers participating. During the news conference, military leaders also mentioned North Korea's deployment of troops to aid Russia's war against Ukraine. US military spokesperson Ryan Donald said "our training accounts for that threat", referring to North Korean soldiers returning from the battlefield.

Strategic Objectives & Posture

About 28,500 American military personnel are stationed in South Korea. On Friday, North Korea's foreign ministry condemned the joint military drills as "a rehearsal for an aggressive war". The joint exercises come days after South Korea, the US and Japan detected the second North Korean missile test in days. Pyongyang has accelerated efforts to expand its nuclear and missile programmes since the collapse in 2019 of Kim's high-profile diplomacy with Trump during his first term in the White House. He became the first ever sitting US president to set foot in North Korea when he visited seven years ago.

Analytical Prognosis

Trump's pointed remark about South Korea in his social media post seemed to hint at possible frustration with Seoul for declining to make direct military or logistical contributions to the US hostilities with Iran. He has also expressed displeasure with other allies for their hesitance to get involved in the conflict, including Japan, France and the UK. Trump's move to downsize joint military exercises with South Korea is not without precedent. He suspended the exercises entirely in 2018, during denuclearisation

negotiations with Kim. The exercises were again scaled back in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. Last week, South Korea's president proposed talks with its northern neighbour on officially ending the war between the two that is technically still active since an armistice was signed in 1953.