US President Donald Trump announced a significant reduction in the scale of joint military exercises with South Korea, citing Seoul’s refusal to join the United States in what he described as Iran’s “nuclear disarmament” process. Trump made the announcement in a Truth Social post on Sunday, August 17. He said the drills were costly, with the United States bearing much of the expense, and described them as sending an inappropriate and hostile message.

Trump said it was too late to cancel the exercises because the annual drills were scheduled to begin Monday. Last week, US and South Korean military officials announced the 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise, saying it would proceed as in previous years and involve about 18,000 South Korean troops. South Korea said its joint exercises with the United States would continue on the planned schedule.

About 28,500 US troops are currently deployed in South Korea. North Korea condemned the drills on Friday as preparations for an aggressive war, while Pyongyang had made no new comment on Trump’s announcement. Trump also halted the exercises in 2018 during talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.