South Korea and the United States will cut their ongoing joint military exercises short by about half, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Wednesday, as North Korea condemned the drills as a threat to the Korean Peninsula.
The Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise, which began on Monday and was originally due to run until August 27, will now end on Friday at the request of the United States, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Seoul and Washington hold annual drills involving thousands of troops from both countries to strengthen their joint defence capabilities.
North Korea’s state news agency KCNA on Wednesday called the 11-day exercise the “most immediate and open threat” to North Korea and regional security, saying the drills were pushing tensions on the peninsula towards war.
Pyongyang said the exercises were increasingly focused on improving the allies’ ability to fight an actual war and incorporated technologies including artificial intelligence, drones and cyber capabilities. Pyongyang would exercise its right to self-defence to “completely neutralize” what it called military threats until its adversaries abandoned efforts to alter the regional balance of power.
The criticism comes days after US President Donald Trump ordered a substantial reduction in US participation in the drills, citing his “very good relationship” with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Trump orders cuts to drills over ‘hostile’ signal
“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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
According to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency, this year’s exercise was supposed to include 14 field drills, three fewer than last year. The agency said the reduction followed efforts by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, who, like Trump, is seeking diplomatic engagement with Kim.
Under Kim’s leadership, Pyongyang has expanded its nuclear weapons and missile programmes and has supported Russia’s war in Ukraine with ammunition and thousands of troops.
North Korea has repeatedly denounced US-South Korean military exercises as hostile, while the countries say the drills are necessary to maintain military readiness.
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed US officials, that Trump wants to meet Kim this year. While no plans have been made officially, the two leaders could meet when global leaders gather in the Chinese city of Shenzhen for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, scheduled for November 18-19.