Photo courtesy of Anadolu
South Korea and the United States agreed to end their ongoing joint military exercise nearly a week earlier than planned and reduce some field training following a request from Washington, according to local media reports Wednesday.
The annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise, which started Monday, was originally scheduled to continue until Aug. 27. Under the revised timetable, the drills will conclude Friday.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the allies also agreed to adjust the scale of some combined field exercises after the United States proposed changes to the training schedule.
The decision followed an order from US President Donald Trump to the Pentagon on Sunday to substantially reduce planned military exercises with South Korea.
Trump cited the financial cost of the drills and his relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in explaining his push to scale them back.
The US president has also renewed criticism of Seoul over its refusal to support Washington in its confrontation with Iran, linking the dispute to the cost of the US security commitment to South Korea.
Trump questioned why Washington continued spending billions of dollars on South Korea’s defense when Seoul declined to participate in a US military operation against Iran.
The scaled-back exercise comes as Trump signals renewed interest in engaging North Korea, while Seoul and Washington navigate questions over their military cooperation and the future direction of their alliance.
