US–South Korea Military Drills to End Six Days Early After Trump Order

Ai-generated illustrative image

The United States and South Korea have agreed to cut short their major annual joint military exercise, with the Ulchi Freedom Shield drills now set to end Friday instead of the originally planned August 27, South Korean officials said Wednesday.

The decision, made at the request of the U.S. side, means the 11-day exercise will run for only about five days. Joint field-training activities held alongside the command-post exercise will also be partially reduced, though the two militaries are still working out the details.

The move follows President Donald Trump’s order to substantially scale back the drills. Trump said he was “not happy” with U.S. participation, describing the exercises as costly and “hostile” toward North Korea while citing his “very good relationship” with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Trump also linked the decision to South Korea’s refusal to support U.S. efforts related to Iran, saying Seoul had declined to take part in what he called the “denuclearization” of Iran.

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun told lawmakers Wednesday that officials in both Seoul and Washington had not been informed of the decision before Trump announced it. Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back made similar remarks, saying the two sides were maintaining close consultations.

Ulchi Freedom Shield is primarily a computer-simulated command-post exercise designed to prepare the allies for potential North Korean aggression. This year’s exercise was planned in two phases: a defensive simulation running through Friday, followed by counteroffensive operations through August 27.

The counteroffensive phase has historically been the most sensitive for Pyongyang, which denounces such drills as rehearsals for an invasion. South Korean media reported, citing unnamed military sources, that the second phase could be scrapped entirely.

The reduction has raised concerns about combined readiness. Yang Uk, an analyst at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul, said repeated suspensions or reductions can leave newly rotated commanders unfamiliar with established procedures, undermining the allies’ ability to operate together in a crisis.

The U.S.–South Korea military alliance dates back to the 1950–53 Korean War. U.S. troops have remained in South Korea since then, and the country now hosts Camp Humphreys, the largest American military base outside the United States. Previous cancellations or reductions of joint drills, including in 1992, 1994 and after Trump’s first summit with Kim in 2018, were decided before the exercises began, rather than while they were already under way.

Lt. Gen. Scott Winter, deputy commander of the United Nations Command, had described this year’s exercise as “bigger and better than ever” days before Trump’s order.

Trump has continued to signal interest in renewed diplomacy with Kim. U.S. media reported, citing unnamed officials, that Trump was pushing aides to arrange a meeting with Kim as early as the northern hemisphere autumn, possibly during an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, China, in November.

Trump also shared a social media post showing an image of Kim with military officials, captioned “Hey Donald, we cool … right?” and told reporters Kim had “responded” to his overtures, without giving details.

Trump and Kim met three times between 2018 and 2019, but those negotiations collapsed over disputes about sanctions relief and denuclearization. Kim has previously suggested he would return to talks only if Washington dropped its demand for North Korean denuclearization as a precondition.

North Korea has not responded positively to Trump’s latest outreach. Its state news agency published a commentary calling the U.S.–South Korean drills “frantic” and “extremely dangerous” and vowed to neutralize what it called the allies’ military threat. Pyongyang also launched two ballistic missiles into the sea shortly before this month’s exercise began.

Some analysts believe the drill reduction may be aimed as much at Seoul as at Pyongyang. Yang Uk said Trump’s message appeared to be that if South Korea did not cooperate on Iran, Washington would not fully cooperate on the drills.

South Korean officials said Seoul and Washington were discussing practical and military contributions that South Korea could make to help restore freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, while weighing South Korea’s own defense requirements and legal procedures.

Cheong Seong-chang, vice president of the Sejong Institute think tank in Seoul, said Trump could go further if talks with Kim resume, potentially suspending the joint exercises altogether or reducing U.S. troop numbers without consulting Seoul.

South Korea’s presidential office said it would continue coordinating with Washington on defense matters. President Lee Jae Myung, a liberal who has called for greater military independence, expressed hope that a friendly relationship between Trump and Kim would lead to meaningful dialogue. That stance drew criticism from conservatives, who accused the government of prioritizing resumed Trump–Kim diplomacy over immediate security concerns.

For now, the allies say they will continue working toward the exercise’s objectives despite the shortened schedule. The longer-term question is whether the reduction is a temporary diplomatic gesture or the start of a broader scaling back of U.S.–South Korean military cooperation.