Trump orders significant reduction in military exercises with South Korea to preserve relations with Kim Jong Un

U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered a significant reduction in joint military exercises between American forces and South Korea.

He announced this on his social media platform Truth Social, citing two reasons: his reluctance to damage relations with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and South Korea’s recent refusal to participate in the denuclearization of Iran.

In his post, Trump explicitly referenced his personal contacts with the North Korean leader as a factor influencing U.S. military policy in the region.

“Given my very good relationship with Kim Jong Un of North Korea, I am not pleased with the fact that the United States has long agreed to participate in joint military exercises with South Korea. These exercises are not only costly, as the United States of America pays for most of these expenses (as usual!), but they also send a very inappropriate and hostile signal to a country that, while Donald Trump was president, showed no threat and was respectful. Therefore, based on the fact that it is too late to cancel, I have instructed Secretary of Defense Hegseth to significantly reduce the joint military exercises,” — Trump wrote.

Trump cited as a second reason for his displeasure with Seoul the refusal of South Korean President Lee Jae-myung to join efforts to denuclearize Iran.

“I recently asked the President of South Korea if they would like to join us in the denuclearization of the Islamic Republic of Iran, to which they responded: ‘No, thank you!'” — the American president wrote.

Meanwhile, Lee Jae-myung himself recently publicly proposed that North Korea begin negotiations on ending the war, which has formally continued for more than 70 years. A year ago, the same president asked Trump to act as a mediator in talks with North Korea to reduce military tensions in the region.

Trump has repeatedly emphasized his warm personal relationship with the North Korean leader. Last April, he called Kim Jong Un a “smart guy” and also assured that he had “a good relationship” with him.