Trump Announces Reduction in Joint Military Exercises with South Korea Amid North Korean T
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In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump announced that the U.S. would dramatically scale back joint exercises with South Korea, ostensibly as a token of friendship to Kim. He praised North Korea as “unthreatening and respectful” to the United States under his administration and called the annual military drills with South Korea “not only costly,” but “totally inappropriate and hostile.”
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ABC NewsU.S. ally South Korea has long faced threats from North Korea. President Donald Trump announced Sunday that had directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to "substantially reduce" joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises, citing his "very good" relationship with North Korea's Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un.
PBS NewsHourTrump orders Pentagon to scale back joint exercises with South Korea Trump said in a social media post that the exercises slated to begin this week are costly and "send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile" to North Korea, which he said "has been unthreatening and respectful" while Trump has been in the White House.
NBC NewsPresident Donald Trump said Sunday that he has directed the Pentagon to scale down joint military exercises with South Korea, citing the country’s refusal to join the war in Iran and his “very good” relationship with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.
Fox NewsThis is also not the first time Trump has scaled back joint exercises with South Korea. During his first term as well, following his initial Singapore summit with Kim Jong-un, he called the "war games" "provocative" and expensive.
The Daily WirePresident Donald Trump said Sunday he has directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to “substantially reduce” joint military exercises with South Korea, citing his “very good relationship” with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and what he said was Seoul’s refusal to help the United States denuclearize Iran.
The Guardian USGood morning. Donald Trump has said he is scaling back joint US military drills with South Korea aimed at deterring North Korea, despite military officials from both countries warning that Kim Jong-un’s regime is learning new battlefield tactics from the Ukraine war.
New York TimesTrump Orders Pentagon to Curtail Military Exercises With Ally South Korea In a social media post, the president scolded South Korea for not helping denuclearize Iran, and also praised North Korea and its leader.
Breitbart“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,” Trump declared on his website, Truth Social.
BBC NewsPublished Donald Trump has said the US will "substantially reduce" joint military exercises with South Korea, citing his "very good relationship" with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un.
NPR NewsWASHINGTON — President Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon on Sunday to scale back annual joint military exercises with South Korea, saying the ally declined to help with the war against Iran and citing his good relationship with North Korea's Kim Jong Un.
Washington TimesThis is not the first time Trump has sought to suspend the drills. After his first summit with Kim in 2018, Trump unilaterally announced the suspension of the U.S.-South Korean summertime exercises, calling them “very provocative” and “tremendously expensive.”
The HillTrump explains his war exercises decision with South Korea President Trump said Monday that he was turned off by South Korea not agreeing to help the U.S. denuclearize Iran even though the U.S. has troops in South Korea to deter aggression from North Korea, spurring him to reduce the joint military exercises. Trump said he recently spoke on the phone with South Korean President…
HuffPostIt’s also not the first time that Trump has sought to curtail the exercises. He suspended the exercises in 2018 as part of denuclearization talks with North Korea, BBC News reported.
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South Korea and the U.S. are closely discussing practical and military contributions that can be made to restore freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, according to South Korea’s presidential office, which said the countries have been closely coordinating over their joint military drills and readiness.
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ABC News"The South Korean government has actively participated from the outset in international discussions aimed at securing a ceasefire in Iran and restoring freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz," the ministry added.
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Downsizing the U.S. and South Korean drills “can damage alliance coordination, slow the process of South Korea taking on greater responsibility for its own defense, and weaken deterrence against possible conflicts in Asia,” Easley said.
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The Guardian USHowever, Leif-Eric Easley, a professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, cautioned that downsizing the exercise would “slow the process of South Korea taking on greater responsibility for its own defence, and weaken deterrence against possible conflicts in Asia”.
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North Korea threatens strong response North Korea has been pushing hard to enlarge its nuclear and missile arsenals since Kim's high-stakes diplomacy with Trump collapsed in 2019. Experts say Kim likely believes a bigger weapons arsenal would increase his chances for wresting more concessions from the U.S. in future negotiations.
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Washington TimesKim has since used the long-running diplomatic stalemate with the U.S. and South Korea to expand his nuclear and missile arsenals by accelerating weapons tests and ramping up production of nuclear materials. He also has bolstered his diplomatic credentials by aligning with Russia over its war against Ukraine and taking steps to deepen cooperation with China.
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South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called Saturday for renewed talks with North Korea and said Seoul would seek to replace the armistice that halted the 1950-1953 Korean War with a formal “peace regime.” Lee also called for safeguards to prevent conflict and said negotiations could explore ways to curb North Korea’s nuclear capabilities.
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Washington TimesOn Saturday, Lee offered to hold talks to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.
8 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 ABC News In 2006, North Korea tested its first nuclear weapon and has since been expanding its atomic weapons stockpile -- despite international condemnation and sanctions led by successive U.S. administrations -- alongside a ballistic missile research program which has produced munitions capable of reaching the continental U.S.
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02 The Guardian US Trump tells CNN reporter to 'be quiet' during Oval Office clash – video Donald Trump berated a CNN reporter at a press availability, insisting that she 'be quiet' after she asked about a reduction in US military exercises with South Korea. The CNN correspondent pressed Trump on whether Kim Jong Un had requested a reduction in military activities. When another reporter asked about the extensive accounts of deteriorating living conditions on the USS Abraham Lincoln during its lengthy deployment in the strait of Hormuz, the president dismissed the complaints: ' It was fake news reporting from CNN'Trump dismisses USS Lincoln criticism and snaps at CNN reporter to ‘be quiet’ Continue reading...
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03 Fox News "For the first time in its history, Russia cannot wage war without reinforcements from North Korea," Zelenskyy said.
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04 Washington Examiner “South Korea has been protected by us for many, many years, and during my first term, they agreed to pay close to $3 billion a year for protection… at my request,” Trump told the reporters.
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05 NPR News It is also a sharp turnaround from how his administration has viewed South Korea in recent months.
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06 Washington Times The trust many South Koreans have in the U.S. has eroded following a tariff war instigated by Trump’s administration and his transactional approach to security.
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07 Breitbart “To this end, we will exert necessary diplomatic efforts as a pacemaker under close South Korea-U.S. cooperation,” it assured.
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08 The Daily Wire It is equally true that America’s partners should expect the global hegemony to act predictably in its own interests. Regardless of Seoul’s behavior, Washington benefits when Pyongyang is hemmed in and deterred from adventurism and belligerence. More broadly, America’s interests demand that North Korea never unify the peninsula. For these reasons alone, military exercises with South Korea should persist.
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