Trump to scale back US-South Korea military drills over Kim Jong Un ties

US President Donald Trump has instructed Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to reduce the scale of joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea.

Writing on his Truth Social platform, Trump said it was already too late to cancel the joint activities altogether. He therefore decided to scale back the drills with Seoul, describing them as a “totally inappropriate hostile” signal to Pyongyang, Caliber.Az reports.

Trump stressed that he has “very good relations” with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Earlier, North Korea condemned the US-South Korea military exercises planned for the summer and vowed to exercise its right to self-defence. In addition, North Korea’s Foreign Ministry said Washington’s nuclear strategy would trigger a new arms race.

The Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise is scheduled to begin on August 17 and will last 11 days.

By Jeyhun Aghazada