US President Donald Trump has ordered a reduction in joint US-South Korea military exercises, citing his relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, even as military officials warn that Pyongyang is gaining new combat experience from the war in Ukraine. The decision affects the Ulchi Freedom Shield drills, which began on Monday and are scheduled to run until 27 August.
Drills and troop numbers
The annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise is one of two major joint drills between South Korea and the US. This year's iteration was expected to involve approximately 18,000 South Korean troops, alongside US forces and personnel from 11 of the 18 member states of the United Nations Command (UNC), the multinational body that oversees the 1953 armistice that halted the Korean War.
On Sunday evening, Trump said he was “not happy” with US participation in the drills, explaining that his decision was based on his “very good relationship with Kim Jong-un”. He added that the exercises were costly and “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”. Trump noted that it was too late to cancel the drills, so he had instructed Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to “substantially reduce” them. He also mentioned that South Korea had refused to help in the “denuclearisation of the Islamic republic of Iran”.
North Korea's Ukraine war experience
Last week, South Korean and US military officials said they would incorporate into the drills lessons drawn from North Korean troops' increasing battlefield experience in Ukraine, including new drone tactics. North Korea has deepened military ties with Russia since signing a comprehensive strategic partnership pact in June 2024, providing troops, artillery ammunition and ballistic missiles to support Moscow's war effort.
At a joint briefing, Col Ryan Donald, public affairs director for the US-led commands in South Korea, said this year's scenario would reflect “drones, GPS disruption [and] cyber attacks”, threats he linked directly to North Korean soldiers who have deployed and fought in Ukraine as part of Pyongyang's military support for Russia. “They've taken those lessons they learned there and brought them back to North Korea, that changes the DPRK capability,” Donald said, referring to North Korea's formal name. “Our training accounts for that threat, that is why the exercise looks different [from previous exercises], and over the last five years it's continually evolved.”
Military warnings and reactions
Speaking to the Guardian at a separate briefing, Lt Gen Scott Winter, deputy commander of the UNC, said the threats being countered “reflect the increased use of these technologies and the understanding that North Korea has contemporary battlefield experience”. “We're very conscious that North Korea has used this as an opportunity to test a number of its ballistic missile systems,” he said, adding that this year's drills would be “bigger and better than ever”.
When asked about Trump's post, South Korea's defence ministry said the joint drills would “proceed as previously notified and scheduled”. The Guardian has reached out to South Korea's defence and foreign ministries for further comment on Trump's remarks.
More than 14,000 North Korean troops have fought alongside Russian forces in the Kursk region, and Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has warned that Russia is preparing to receive 30,000 more. The two countries are also close to completing the first road bridge ever built between them, over the Tumen river, which one open-source investigation concluded functions more as a military logistics corridor than a trade route. Russian state media says it is expected to open in September.
In the days before the exercise were due to begin, North Korea test-fired ballistic missiles, in what analysts read partly as a protest against the drills. On Friday, North Korea's foreign ministry called the exercise “a rehearsal for an aggressive war”, warning it would “respond to a new level of a threat with a new level of a deterrent”. The warning is typical of the rhetoric Pyongyang deploys ahead of major US-South Korean drills. Officials have repeatedly described the exercise as “defensive” in nature.
Chun In-bum, a retired lieutenant general who commanded South Korea's special forces, highlighted the importance of preparing in a timely manner for capabilities that will be required to prepare for new challenges ahead. “This is a very serious improvement in North Korean capabilities. And we should not take lightly this threat environment.”
