President Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announcing the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Department of War.
President Donald Trump dropped a foreign-policy bombshell Sunday, ordering Secretary Pete Hegseth to substantially reduce the massive joint military exercises set to begin with South Korea on Monday.
In a blistering Truth Social post, Trump said the long-planned drills are too expensive for American taxpayers and send an unnecessarily hostile signal to North Korea, a country he said has remained “unthreatening and respectful” during his presidency.
Trump also pointed directly to his personal diplomacy with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, invoking their “very good relationship” as a reason to pull back the exercises.
And why should we keep footing the bill for these countries when they won’t even lift a finger to help us?
President Trump revealed the SHOCKING truth that South Korea flat-out declined his request to assist the United States in the denuclearization of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Trump exposed the hypocrisy, noting he recently asked the South Korean President to join us against Iran, and their response was, “No thanks!”.
Trump wrote on X:
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.
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, to a Country that, as long as Donald J. Trump has been President, has been unthreatening and respectful.
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! 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!”
The annual Ulchi Freedom Shield drills are scheduled for August 17 through August 27.
The previously announced exercise was expected to involve roughly 18,000 South Korean troops and combine live, virtual, field and command-post training designed to prepare the allies for rapidly evolving threats. U.S. and South Korean officials have described the drills as defensive.
The timing makes the order especially explosive. North Korea denounced the planned drills just days ago and threatened to strengthen its nuclear deterrent. Pyongyang also launched two ballistic missiles from the Wonsan area in the span of less than a week, according to South Korean military officials.
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