The New York Times headlined it "Trump Orders Pentagon to Curtail Military Exercises With Ally South Korea". Fox News headlined it "Trump orders major cut to US-South Korea drills as North Korea ramps up missile tests". Trump has directed the Pentagon to reduce joint military exercises conducted with South Korea.
The order came alongside references to his relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and to South Korea having stayed out of a recent conflict involving Iran. BBC News headlined it "Trump says US to reduce military drills with South Korea after it stayed out of Iran war".
As part of the reduction, the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise was shortened. Reason reported: "The U.S. military is downsizing exercises in South Korea and pulling its last aircraft carrier out of the Pacific."1
The decision drew criticism from members of Congress and outside observers, who argued that scaling back the drills was unwise. "Hollowing out these joint exercises is shortsighted and a mistake,"2, NBC News said.
Trump defended the move by pointing to the cost of the exercises to the United States and describing the drills themselves as sending an unwelcome signal. "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"3, Axios said.
An analyst described the decision as serving multiple purposes at once, tying it to frustration over the pace of trade and investment talks with South Korea along with Trump's interest in meeting the North Korean leader. "“He sees this as a two for one,” Cha said. "A combination of things led to Trump's frustration that South Korea is not moving the trade and investment framework agreement on investments faster and his desire to meet the North Korean leader."", Fox News said.
The Guardian headlined it "Trump orders cuts to South Korea joint drills despite warnings about Kim regime". South Korea's own leadership has separately pressed for greater control over its military's wartime command.
North Korea followed with a series of ballistic missile launches.
