U.S.-South Korea Military Drill Ends Early Amid North Korean Missile Threat
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U.S.-South Korea military drill wraps up early, a day after North Korea's missile barrage President Donald Trump had earlier abruptly ordered the Pentagon to "substantially reduce" the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise just before it began Monday. Trump cited what he described as a good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korea's refusal to support him over the war in Iran.
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Fox NewsTrump’s comment came after he ordered War Secretary Pete Hegseth this week to substantially scale back the annual U.S.-South Korea Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises, arguing that the drills were costly and sent an "inappropriate and hostile" signal to North Korea. The U.S. and South Korean militaries said Wednesday they would shorten the exercises and end them Friday.
BBC NewsAlthough it has traditionally been happy to scale down or suspend the exercises in order to lure North Korea to peace talks, Trump's unilateral and sudden decision to pull his troops early has shaken South Korean confidence in the US as an ally, according to Jo Bee-yun, a Senior Research Fellow at the Atlantic Council.
NPR NewsOn Wednesday, the South Korean and U.S. militaries said they were scaling back their 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises. That came days after U.S. President Donald Trump earlier ordered the Pentagon to "substantially reduce" the exercises, citing what he said was a good relationship with Kim and South Korea's refusal to support him over the war in Iran.
Associated PressSEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The U.S. and South Korean militaries were wrapping up their annual drills six days earlier than initially scheduled on Friday in a conciliatory gesture toward North Korea, though the North said the step isn’t enough to convince it to return to talks.
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Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, dismissed Trump's overture later Wednesday. She said it was not even worthy of comment because "The provocative, aggressive nature of the drills won't change even though their duration and size were reduced."
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Associated PressKim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, brushed aside Trump’s overture on Wednesday, saying “the provocative, aggressive nature of the drills” won’t change only with the reduction of their duration and size.
Fox NewsKim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, dismissed the reduction in drills as insufficient, saying Washington’s policy toward North Korea remains hostile. Trump and Kim met three times during Trump’s first term, but their negotiations broke down in 2019 without an agreement to curb North Korea’s nuclear program.
BBC NewsBut Kim's powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong, said in a statement that she knew nothing about Trump's claim her brother had contacted him recently, adding it "must be the only thing I am unaware of in our foreign policy".
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That led to a landmark shift in North Korea's foreign policy, which has strengthened Kim's position. In 2023, North Korea formally abandoned the goal of reunifying with South Korea. Kim also signed a mutual defense pact with Russia, and revived ties with China, all but ruling out any role for South Korea as mediator.
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BBC NewsThe two Koreas are technically still at war since they did not sign a peace treaty after the Korean War. Reuniting with the South had always been a key, if increasingly unrealistic, part of the North's ideology until Kim abandoned it in 2024.
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And while South Korea has long been keen on Trump reaching out to Kim as a means of maintaining diplomacy, it would not have wanted it to come with demands for cash and military assistance in Iran.
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NPR NewsOfficially, South Korea said it hoped Trump's outreach would lead to renewed diplomatic engagement with North Korea.
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South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun told lawmakers on Wednesday he'd do his best "to make sure the South Korea-U.S. alliance does not weaken" as the U.S. pursues dialogue with Pyongyang. Cho admitted that Seoul was caught off guard by Trump's orders.
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BBC NewsSeoul's Foreign Minister Cho Hyun tried to paint the decision as one of mutual agreement, but admitted officials did not know of Trump's intent to scale down the exercise in advance.
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Trump, who has also criticised Seoul for refusing to take part in action against Iran, has said he expects to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un later this year.
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Fox NewsThe decision is one of several overtures Trump has made toward Kim as he seeks to revive diplomacy with Pyongyang. Trump has said he expects to meet with Kim later this year, potentially during a planned November trip to Asia, though no summit has been announced.
The HillTrump seeks to rekindle bromance with Kim Jong Un President Trump is pushing to rekindle his first-term bromance with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, expressing his desire for another rendezvous after reducing joint military exercises with South Korea in an effort to appease the dictator.  The president met with Kim three times during his first term, but ultimately, denuclearization talks stalled and the relationship…
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Meanwhile Trump has maintained that he enjoys a "great relationship" with Kim, telling reporters on Wednesday: "He likes me".
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Fox NewsTrump made the remark while defending his relationship with Kim, arguing that his rapport with the North Korean leader is "a good thing," not a bad one.
6 details only one outlet reported
Independent claims that didn't surface elsewhere in our corpus. Treat as supplementary — not corroborated across outlets.
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01 NPR News But she acknowledged that while U.S. policies towards North Korea remain hostile, "the relationship between the two leaders is still excellent."
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02 PBS NewsHour Trump's tough treatment of allies has a 'net positive,' Rebeccah Heinrichs says On Wednesday, President Trump reiterated how good his relationship is with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. The president also spoke again of his displeasure with joint military exercises the U.S. is conducting with South Korea, which Trump already ordered scaled back. Amna Nawaz discussed the president's relationships with U.S. allies with Rebeccah Heinrichs of the Hudson Institute.
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03 BBC News This revelation by Trump, who called the exercise "inappropriate and hostile" towards North Korea and costly to the US, caught his allies by surprise.
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04 The Hill What Trump’s cold shoulder toward South Korea means to our allies Trump's coupling of his desire to meet the North Korean dictator with the cutback in joint exercises with South Korea sends the wrong message.
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05 Associated Press With its supply of ammunition and troops to Russia, North Korea is likely receiving economic and military assistance in return, and its expanding ties with Russia provides it with leverage to ask for greater support from China, its biggest trading partner.
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06 Fox News President Donald Trump said Wednesday that North Korea possesses 57 nuclear weapons as he previewed a possible meeting with leader Kim Jong Un later this year.
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