--- title: "Trump cuts military exercises with South Korea: 'Friendship' with Kim Jong Un vs. alliance" description: "πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ Donald Trump has ordered the Pentagon to reduce military exercises with South Korea, citing \"friendship\" with Kim Jong Un. πŸ‡°πŸ‡΅ The US President called the exercises a \"hostile signal\" and too expensive. The decision has raised questions in Seoul, where provocations on the border were recently recorded. πŸ‡°πŸ‡· #Trump #DPRK #MilitaryExercises #Politics" date: 2026-08-16T22:58:01.000Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/trump-cuts-military-exercises-with-south-korea-friendship-with-kim-jong-un-vs-alliance tags: [donald-trump, north-korea, kim-jong-un, south-korea, pentagon, military-exercises, us-foreign-policy] publisher: "XAB.info" --- # Trump cuts military exercises with South Korea: 'Friendship' with Kim Jong Un vs. alliance ![Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un engaged in conversation against a backdrop of steps, symbolizing diplomatic dialogue between the US and North Korea amid reduced military exercises with South Korea](https://xab.info/media/2026/08/17/tramp-sokratil-voennye-ucheniya-s-yuzhnoy-koreey/tramp-sokratil-voennye-ucheniya-s-yuzhnoy-koreey-1.webp) ## 🎯 Key Points - Trump reduced US and South Korean exercises due to good relations with Kim Jong Un. - The US President considers the exercises expensive and hostile towards Pyongyang. - The decision conflicts with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung's calls for peace. - There are discrepancies regarding the actual scale of the reduction of exercises. ### Radical strategic review: White House decision On Friday, August 15, 2026, US President Donald Trump published a statement on his social network Truth Social that caused a wide resonance in diplomatic circles. The head of state officially confirmed that he had instructed the US Department of Defense to significantly reduce the scale of joint military exercises with South Korea. Trump cited his "very good relationship" with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as the basis for this step. In his post, the President emphasized that continuing large-scale exercises, which are funded primarily from the American budget, is inefficient and sends an "inappropriate and hostile signal" to Pyongyang. ### "Friendship diplomacy" vs. military maneuvers In his statement, Donald Trump referred to the fact that during his previous presidency, North Korea behaved "harmlessly and respectfully." He expressed dissatisfaction that the United States continues to participate in joint exercises which, in his opinion, only provoke tension. "I have instructed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to significantly reduce the volume of joint military exercises," Trump wrote, noting that canceling them entirely is already too late due to logistics and preparation, but their scale must be minimized. This decision calls into question the traditional strategy of containing North Korea, which for decades has been based on demonstrating the military might of the US-South Korea alliance. ### Seoul's reaction and regional context Washington's decision contradicts recent statements by South Korean President Lee Jae-myung. A few days ago, on August 12, Lee Jae-myung called on North Korea to begin negotiations on concluding a permanent peace treaty to end the state of war, which has formally lasted for 76 years. However, last week the situation on the border escalated: the South Korean army was forced to make warning shots after a group of North Korean soldiers crossed the land border. Under these conditions, the reduction of exercises by the US may be perceived by Seoul as a weakening of security guarantees. ### Secondary factors: Iran and Seoul's refusal In his message, Trump also touched upon the topic of Iran's denuclearization. He reported that he recently proposed to the President of South Korea to join the US in sanctioning pressure on Tehran, but received a refusal. At the same time, the American leader assured that the decision to reduce military exercises with the South Korean army is not related to this refusal. Nevertheless, analysts note that this may indicate a broader review of the Trump administration's priorities, where personal diplomatic ties with leaders of pariah countries are beginning to play a bigger role than the interests of traditional allies. ### Contradictory data Currently, there are discrepancies in assessing the scale of the reduction. While Trump uses the formulation "significantly reduce the volume" in his post, Pentagon sources interviewed by Focus.ua agency state that it is only about rescheduling part of the exercises to a later date, not canceling them. Moreover, South Korean media report that Seoul has not yet received an official notification from Washington, and official representatives of the South Korean Ministry of Defense are calling for caution in interpreting the words of the US President, considering them preliminary. Thus, it is currently unclear how radical the actual changes in the exercise schedule will be. ## πŸ” Fact-Check Verification - [Reduction of joint military exercises: Trump's decision and its consequences.](https://www.notizie.it/ru/%D0%A1%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%BC%D0%B5%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B5-%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B5-%D1%83%D1%87%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%8F-%D1%81%D0%BC%D1%8F%D0%B3%D1%87%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%B8-%D1%80%D0%B5%D1%88%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5-%D0%A2%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%BF%D0%B0-%D0%B8-%D0%B5%D0%B3%D0%BE-%D0%BF%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%B4%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%8F./) - ΠŸΠΎΠ΄Ρ‚Π²Π΅Ρ€ΠΆΠ΄Π°Π΅Ρ‚ Ρ„Π°ΠΊΡ‚ сокращСния ΠΈ Ρ†ΠΈΡ‚ΠΈΡ€ΡƒΠ΅Ρ‚ заявлСниС Π’Ρ€Π°ΠΌΠΏΠ°. - [Trump cuts military exercises with South Korea, explaining it with "friendship" with the DPRK leader](https://focus.ua/world/764675-ssha-sokratili-ucheniya-s-yuzhnoy-koreey-tramp-govorit-o-druzhbe-s-kimom-foto) - Π”Π΅Ρ‚Π°Π»ΠΈΠ·ΠΈΡ€ΡƒΠ΅Ρ‚ ΠΏΡ€ΠΈΡ‡ΠΈΠ½Ρƒ (ΠΎΡ‚Π½ΠΎΡˆΠ΅Π½ΠΈΡ с Кимом) ΠΈ ΡƒΠΏΠΎΠΌΠΈΠ½Π°Π΅Ρ‚ контСкст. - [Trump orders to reduce military exercises with South Korea due to relations with the DPRK](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/tramp-doruchiv-skorotiti-viyskovi-navchannya-1786919963.html) - Основной источник Ρ†ΠΈΡ‚Π°Ρ‚ ΠΈ Ρ„Π°ΠΊΡ‚ΠΎΠ² ΠΎ ΠΏΠΎΡ€ΡƒΡ‡Π΅Π½ΠΈΠΈ Π₯СгсСту. - [Trump confirms he is suspending military exercises in the Korean Peninsula area...](https://www.interfax.kz/en/news/73595?lang=eng) - ΠŸΠΎΠ΄Ρ‚Π²Π΅Ρ€ΠΆΠ΄Π°Π΅Ρ‚ Ρ„Π°ΠΊΡ‚ приостановки/сокращСния. ## ❓ FAQ ### Q: Why did Trump cut military exercises? **A:** The US President explained this by his "very good relationship" with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and the desire not to send hostile signals. ### Q: How did South Korea react? **A:** The official reaction is currently restrained, but the decision contradicts recent calls for peace by President Lee Jae-myung and the escalation on the border. ### Q: Who was ordered to carry out the decision? **A:** Trump instructed US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to significantly reduce the volume of exercises.