Announcing his decision on Truth Social, Trump wrote: “Based on my very good relationship with Kim Jong Un, of North Korea, I am not happy with the fact that the United States has, long ago, agreed to participate in Joint Military Exercises with South Korea.”

He added that the exercises were not only costly, with much of the expense being borne by the United States, but also sent an “inappropriate and hostile” signal to North Korea, which he described as having remained “unthreatening and respectful” during his presidency.

South Korea is a longstanding US ally, and the two countries regularly conduct joint military exercises aimed at strengthening their combined defence capabilities.

Explaining his decision to scale back the exercises, Trump said on Truth Social: “Therefore, and based on the fact that it is too late to cancel, I have instructed Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to substantially reduce the Joint Military Exercises!”

Trump also linked the decision to South Korea’s response to his request for assistance related to Iran’s denuclearisation.

“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 wrote.

Meanwhile, the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield joint military exercises began on Monday as scheduled, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff told CNN.

However, it remains unclear how Trump’s announcement will affect the ongoing exercises.

What is Ulchi Freedom Shield?

According to the United States Forces Korea website, Ulchi Freedom Shield is a combined, joint, all-domain and interagency exercise involving US and South Korean forces and government agencies.

The annual exercise aims to strengthen coordination among the Combined Forces Command, United States Forces Korea, United Nations Command, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff and South Korean government agencies.

It is designed to reinforce the allies’ combined defence posture and improve their ability to respond to a range of potential security threats.