Trump orders Pentagon to significantly reduce military exercises with South Korea, stresses very good relationship with Kim Jong Un

US President Donald Trump on Sunday ordered the Pentagon to "significantly scale back" joint military exercises with longtime Asian ally South Korea, citing the cost of the maneuvers and Seoul's refusal to participate in actions against Iran, Reuters reported today.

Hours before the drills were due to begin, Trump said on his Twitter account that he was "not happy" that the United States had agreed to participate, highlighting his "very good relationship" with Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, a country that possesses nuclear weapons and is under strict sanctions.

"These exercises are not only expensive... but they send a signal that is completely inappropriate and hostile to a country that, under Donald J. Trump, has been non-aggressive and respectful," Trump wrote.

The annual joint military exercises "Ulchi Freedom Shield" are scheduled to last until August 27, with the participation of about 18.000 South Korean military personnel.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff told Reuters that the drills began on Monday as planned, but declined to comment on Trump's remarks. The presidential office, as well as the defense and foreign ministries, did not immediately respond to requests for comment, which was a national holiday in Seoul.

A Pentagon spokesman referred questions about the case to the White House, which did not immediately respond to a request for additional details.

A relationship full of ups and downs

Trump has long sought to end or limit military exercises with South Korea, while also clashing with Seoul over sharing the costs of stationing 28.500 US troops in South Korea and their role in securing the wider region.

North Korea, which is still technically at war with South Korea, regularly denounces US-South Korean military exercises as preparations for invasion. Pyongyang last week fired a ballistic missile from its east coast into the Sea of ​​Japan, the South Korean and Japanese militaries said, days after a similar North Korean launch of a short-range ballistic missile.

"This decision could be part of a broader attempt to create a diplomatic opportunity with Pyongyang, which Trump has consistently sought since returning to power, although the chaotic manner in which this move was executed is unlikely to make much of an impression in Pyongyang," Jenny Town, director of the 38 North program at the Stimson Center, said in an email.

The relationship between Trump and Kim has been going through major ups and downs for years.

Trump has mocked the North Korean leader, calling him "Little Rocket Man" and threatening Pyongyang with "fire and fury," while Kim boasted that he would "tame the mentally deranged old American with fire."

Still, the two have participated in three summits, and Trump declared after exchanging letters with Kim that they had “fallen in love.” None of those attempts led to changes in North Korea’s nuclear weapons or ballistic missile development.

While Trump spoke in a warm tone about North Korea on Sunday, he also pointed to South Korea's stance on the US-Israeli conflict with Iran.

"Although somewhat unrelated (?), I recently asked the President of South Korea if they would like to join us in denuclearizing the Islamic Republic of Iran, and they replied, 'No, thank you!'" Trump wrote.

Exercises are switched to simulations

It is not clear how the exercises could be scaled back, but in recent years they have increasingly moved away from maneuvers with live ammunition and shifted to computer simulations of missile and cyber attacks.

Victor Cha, head of the Korea program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said Trump may be trying to exert more influence over North Korea at a time when Pyongyang is heavily involved in supporting Russia in Ukraine.

"Another way to look at this is that Trump wants to engage with Kim to weaken Russia-North Korea ties," Cha said.

US military officials say North Korean soldiers, who fought alongside Russian forces during the invasion of Ukraine, gained combat experience in that conflict, while Ukraine said last week that North Korean-made missiles were used in a Russian ballistic missile attack on a steel mill in Zaporizhia.

A senior official at the US Army's Northern Command, Lieutenant General Joseph Jarrard, warned last week that North Korea had successfully tested intercontinental ballistic missiles with "sufficient thrust to deliver a nuclear payload to any point in North America."

Economic factors

Although Trump has repeatedly called on South Korea to shoulder a greater share of defense costs, a US official this year called Seoul a "model ally" committed to increasing defense spending in line with America's regional strategy.

There are also broader economic tensions.

A former US official who worked in the first Trump administration told Reuters he believed Trump was "frustrated by the intransigence" of South Korean President Lee Jae-myung's administration in addressing economic issues.

"The Li government has repeatedly implemented policies hostile to American companies and has shown little interest in implementing a historic investment agreement with the United States," the official said.

The two countries signed a trade deal last year that provided for a reduction in Trump's auto tariffs in exchange for Seoul committing to invest $350 billion. South Korea has not yet released details of its investment plan.

The allies are also at odds over a case involving US-listed e-commerce company Kupang, which is being investigated by Seoul authorities for a major data leak.