President Trump ordered the US and South Korea to cut short their joint military drills, known as Ulchi Freedom Shield, which began on Monday. The exercises will now end on Friday, one week earlier than planned, after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed the cuts at Trump's request. According to a Defense Department official, the joint drills were "substantially reduced" with some events canceled or converted to simulations. The move is seen as a concession to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and has been criticized by experts who say it may weaken the US-South Korea alliance.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-19,
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Story summary
US President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that he would be scaling back US military exercises with South Korea, citing his "very good" relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and claiming that the exercises were expensive. The annual drills, known as Ulchi Freedom Shield, were originally scheduled to run from August 13-27, but have been reduced in scope and scale at the direction of Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The decision has caused alarm among South Koreans, who rely heavily on the US for their security, as well as other US allies in the region. North Korea has been threatening a "new level" of nuclear deterrence in response to the planned drills, which Pyongyang state media called "a rehearsal for an invasion war."
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, who had previously floated the idea of reducing joint military exercises with the US as a tool for drawing North Korea back to the table, has renewed his calls for wartime operational control of the military and progress on South Korea's nuclear submarine programme.
The decision to cut short the drills marks a significant shift in Trump's approach to North Korea, which he had previously criticized for its missile tests and threats. Trump added that US involvement in the exercises would send a "signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile" to North Korea, which he said has been "unthreatening and respectful" to his presidency.
The move has also sparked concerns among analysts and US senators about Trump's willingness to prioritize North Korean denuclearization over South Korea's security. Some have criticized Trump's approach as naive, citing the recent spate of North Korean missile tests and threats.
Written for “US-South Korea Military Tensions” on 2026-08-31,
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Leaning score +0.35 for article 1347 (low confidence, 0 verified quotes) · logged 2026-08-21
The South Korean and U.S. militaries have agreed to shorten their drills
, officials for both nations acknowledged Wednesday, days after President Trump ordered cuts to the exercises.
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Trump → agree → exercises
The allies' summertime Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises began Monday morning for an 11-day run, just after Mr. Trump ordered they be scaled back.
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they → begin → run
Mr. Trump cited what he said was a good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korea's refusal to join the
.A Defense Department official
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he → cite → official
told CBS News in a statement Tuesday evening that, at the direction of Mr. Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the joint drills had been "substantially reduced" and would end Friday, one week earlier than had been originally scheduled.
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drills → tell → Trump
"Associated live-training events have been reduced, with certain events canceled or converted to simulations," the official said.
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official → reduce → simulations
"These adjustments preserve essential readiness and training objectives.
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adjustments → preserve → readiness
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed in a separate statement the reduced timeline came at the request of the U.S.
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timeline → confirm → U.S.
It said the allies also agreed to downsize some joint field training exercises.
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allies → say → exercises
The Joint Chiefs of Staff added that, going forward, the two nations would "discuss and implement various measures aimed at achieving the objectives of the UFS exercise and establishing a combined defense posture."
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nations → add → posture
Many experts say Mr. Trump's move threatens to hurt combined U.S.-South Korean readiness and eventually weaken their decades-long alliance.
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move → say → alliance
Ulchi Freedom Shield is largely a computer-simulated command post exercise meant to hone the allies' ability to deal with potential regional security threats like North Korean aggression.
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Shield → simulate → aggression
The two countries usually hold field training exercises during the command post exercise period.
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countries → hold → period
The drills and a similar springtime exercise are a central pillar of the U.S.-South Korea alliance, which dates to the 1950-53 Korean War.
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which → date → War
But they're also a long-running source of tensions with North Korea, which has denounced the exercises as a rehearsal for war and responded with provocative missile tests.
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which → run → tests
North Korea hasn't responded to Mr. Trump's overture.
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Korea → respond → overture
But earlier Wednesday, its state news agency, KCNA, published commentary slamming the U.S.-South Korean military drills as "frantic" and "extremely dangerous" and vowing to completely frustrate its rivals' hostilities.
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agency → publish → hostilities
Experts said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, now emboldened
and expanding military cooperation, won't likely embrace Mr. Trump's overture anytime soon unless he's promised bigger concessions.
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he → say → concessions
In response to Mr. Trump's previous outreach, Kim suggested last year that he can return to talks only after the U.S. drops its demand of a North Korean denuclearization as a precondition for diplomacy.
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U.S. → suggest → diplomacy
Mr. Trump and Kim met three times from 2018-2019 but their high-stakes diplomacy eventually fell apart over wrangling over a North Korean demand for extensive sanctions relief in return for limited denuclearization steps.
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diplomacy → meet → steps
