Seoul responds to Trump's decision to scale back military exercises
Kyiv • UNN
South Korea is reviewing Trump's comments about scaling back joint exercises, hoping for substantive negotiations. Pyongyang has not yet responded, while experts warn of possible high costs.
South Korea has issued a statement on US President Donald Trump's decision to reduce the annual military exercises between the two countries, UNN reports, citing the BBC.
Context
President Donald Trump said that the United States would "substantially reduce" joint military exercises with South Korea, citing his "very good relationship" with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. He also said on Truth Social that South Korea had recently refused to join the United States in the "denuclearization" of Iran. "These exercises are not only expensive, with a significant portion of the costs paid by the United States of America (as always!), but they also send an absolutely inappropriate and hostile signal," Trump wrote.
Seoul's response
Seoul said it was reviewing Trump's comments, adding that it hoped favorable relations between Washington and Pyongyang could lead to meaningful negotiations. Pyongyang has not yet commented on the situation.
South Korea earlier said that the exercises with the United States would continue "as scheduled".
This came after North Korea conducted tests of ballistic missiles banned by the United Nations this month.
Trump's statement came less than 24 hours after he posted an old photograph of himself and Kim from 2019, writing that they had been good friends, "despite the unfriendly look in this particular photo".
In its statement, South Korea's presidential Blue House said it would continue diplomatic consultations on military cooperation between the United States and Korea related to the Strait of Hormuz, and would also discuss details of joint military exercises with the United States.
Experts suggest that abandoning joint military exercises could result in high costs and relatively little benefit.
Last week, US and South Korean military leaders held a joint press conference at which they announced the "Ulchi Freedom Shield" exercises.
During the press conference, the military leaders also mentioned North Korea's deployment of troops to assist Russia's war against Ukraine.
US military spokesman Ryan Donald said that "our exercises take this threat into account," referring to North Korean soldiers returning from the battlefield. About 28,500 US servicemen are stationed in South Korea.
On Friday, North Korea's Foreign Ministry condemned the joint military exercises as a "rehearsal for an aggressive war".
The joint exercises took place several days after South Korea, the United States and Japan detected North Korea's second missile test in several days.
Pyongyang has accelerated efforts to expand its nuclear and missile programs following the failure in 2019 of Kim's high-profile diplomatic engagements with Trump during his first term in the White House.
He became the first sitting US president to set foot on North Korean territory when he visited it seven years ago.
For Seoul, Trump's post is an ambiguous signal. On the one hand, they had asked Trump to engage with Pyongyang, and the post raises hopes that he may bring Kim back to the negotiating table. But Trump also hints that he is dissatisfied with South Korea's unwillingness to make a direct military or logistical contribution to US military operations against Iran, the publication writes.
He also expressed dissatisfaction with other allies over their unwillingness to intervene in the conflict, including Japan, France and the United Kingdom.
Trump's move to reduce joint military exercises with South Korea is not unprecedented. He completely halted the exercises in 2018 during denuclearization talks with Kim. He said at the time that the annual exercises were "provocative" toward North Korea and that ending the "war games" would save the United States "a tremendous amount of money". The exercises were reduced again in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic.
What they say in Ukraine
Ukraine has also commented on Trump's decision regarding the exercises.
"At the same time, North Korea is sending military personnel to gain experience in Russia’s war against Ukraine, preparing for a possible escalation on the Korean Peninsula," Andriy Kovalenko, head of the National Security and Defense Council’s Center for Countering Disinformation, said on social media on Monday.