President Donald Trump said Sunday that he has directed Secretary Hegseth to scale down joint military exercises with South Korea. He mentioned that South Korea wouldn’t help with Iran. More importantly, he decided to favor North Korea.
Trump said the large, annual military drills sent a “signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile” to North Korea, a country with which the U.S. has no formal diplomatic ties, but which Trump says has been “unthreatening and respectful” as long as he’s been president.
“Based on the fact that it is too late to cancel, I have instructed Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to substantially reduce the Joint Military Exercises!” Trump wrote.
The command was set to carry out the Ulchi Freedom Shield training on Monday and would include 18,000 South Korean soldiers, the South Korean military told The Associated Press.
“While somewhat unrelated (?), I recently asked the President of South Korea if they would like to join us in the Denuclearization of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and they said, ‘No thanks!’” Trump wrote.
North Korea launched a ballistic missile toward the sea recently.
Trump’s Truth Social message:
“Based on my very good relationship with Kim Jong Un, of North Korea, I am not happy with the fact that the United States has, long ago, agreed to participate in Joint Military Exercises with South Korea.
“These exercises are not only costly, with much of these costs paid for by the United States of America (as usual!), but send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile, to a Country that, as long as Donald J. Trump has been President, has been unthreatening and respectful.
“Therefore, and based on the fact that it is too late to cancel, I have instructed Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to substantially reduce the Joint Military Exercises! While somewhat unrelated (?), I recently asked the President of South Korea if they would like to join us in the Denuclearization of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and they said, “No thanks!” Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP”
