Trump Announces Reduction in Joint Military Exercises with South Korea, Claims to Be a 'F友
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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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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.
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.
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.
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.
BBC NewsPresident Donald Trump has said that the US will "substantially reduce" joint military exercises with South Korea, citing his "very good relationship" with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un.
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.
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.
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…
New York TimesTrump’s Overture to North Korea Strains Alliance With the South President Trump wants to curtail military exercises with South Korea, saying they were hostile to North Korea. But under Mr. Kim, the North has become increasingly belligerent toward the South.
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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Trump met with the reclusive North Korean leader three times during his first term to discuss the country’s nuclear program, most recently in 2019. Since returning to office, Trump has expressed interest in continuing those discussions.
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NPR NewsTrump met with the North Korean leader three times during his first term to discuss the country's nuclear program, most recently in 2019. Since returning to office, Trump has expressed interest in continuing those discussions. In September 2025, Kim said he held "good personal memories" of Trump and suggested he could return to talks if the U.S. drops "its delusional obsession with denuclearization" of North Korea.
Washington ExaminerTrump and Kim Jong Un courted each other aggressively during his first administration, culminating in a presidential trip to the Korean border — where he became the first U.S. leader to set foot in the hermit kingdom. Summits between the two countries were held in 2018 and 2019, but ultimately, Pyongyang’s refusal to denuclearize destroyed the negotiations.
BBC NewsTrump has bucked American foreign policy norms with North Korea's leader, whom he last visited in person in 2019.
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South Korea is a longtime U.S. ally and hosts roughly 28,500 American troops. The U.S. presence on the peninsula has traditionally been intended to prevent a resumption of cross-border hostilities, with the Korean War of 1950-1953 having never officially ended.
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The Daily WireSouth Korea has been a treaty ally since 1953 and hosts roughly 28,500 American troops, including at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, the largest U.S. military installation overseas.
The Guardian USThe alliance Trump is now unwinding dates to the 1953 Mutual Defense Treaty signed after the Korean war armistice. Roughly 28,500 American troops remain stationed in South Korea, backed by a combined US-South Korean command structure and Washington’s pledge to extend its nuclear umbrella over Seoul.
9 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 BBC News The BBC's Tom Bateman explains Trump's evolving relationship with North and South Korea.
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02 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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03 The Guardian US Democrats in Congress said the move handed Kim a propaganda win for nothing, while an ally was left paying the price for a war in the Middle East it never agreed to fight.
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04 USA Today President Trump denied claims that he is prioritizing North Korea's interests over regional allies.
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05 NBC News South Korea’s embassy in Washington and the United States Forces Korea, a subunified command tasked with carrying out the exercises, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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06 Fox News "For the first time in its history, Russia cannot wage war without reinforcements from North Korea," Zelenskyy said.
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07 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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08 NPR News It is also a sharp turnaround from how his administration has viewed South Korea in recent months.
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09 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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Sources (13)
- thehill
- nbc
- guardian
- bbc
- dailywire
- huffpost
- pbs
- usatoday
- abc
- washexaminer
- nyt
- npr
- foxnews