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Associated Press

Reuters

The South Korean and US militaries have agreed to shorten their drills at the US’ request, South Korean officials said on Wednesday, days after President Donald Trump ordered cuts to the exercises.
The allies’ summertime Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises began Monday morning for an 11-day run, just after Trump ordered his Pentagon chief to “substantially reduce” them, citing what he said was a good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korea’s refusal to join the US war against Iran.
South Korea’s military said in a statement the ongoing drills with the US would end on Friday, not August 27 as initially planned. It said the allies also agreed to downsize some joint field training exercises.
The allies will complete the first, defensive phase of the exercise this week and cancel the second phase involving counter-attack operations, according to local media.

Ulchi is largely a computer-simulated command post exercise meant to hone the allies’ ability to deal with potential regional security threats like North Korean aggression. The two countries usually hold field training exercises during the command post exercise period.
The drills and a similar springtime exercise are a central pillar of the US-South Korea alliance, which dates to the 1950-53 Korean war.
Pyongyang routinely condemns joint US-South Korean military exercises as rehearsals for invasion, while Washington and Seoul say they are necessary to maintain readiness against North Korea’s ‌military threats.
South Korean President Lee ‌Jae Myung said on Tuesday the Ulchi exercises were defensive and that Seoul had no intention of using them to attack North Korea or heighten tensions on the peninsula.
Uncertainty over the joint military drills comes as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visits South Korea on Wednesday and Thursday for talks expected to cover developments on the Korean peninsula and regional security issues.
Drills denounced
North Korea again denounced ⁠the drills on Wednesday, ⁠saying it would continue exercising its right to self-defence against what it called military threats from Washington and Seoul, state media KCNA reported.
A KCNA commentary called ‌the United States and South Korea “warmongers” raising tensions on the Korean peninsula. It did not mention Trump, his order or the reported plans to reduce the ‌exercise.
Trump has ‌also pushed aides to arrange an in-person meeting with Kim as soon as this autumn, according to the Wall Street Journal, ‌citing US officials. He discussed holding talks during a possible November trip to Asia for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, China, the newspaper said.
Trump said on Monday that Kim had responded ⁠to his outreach, without disclosing the nature of the contact.

Experts say Kim, now emboldened by his advancing nuclear programme and expanding military cooperation, is unlikely to embrace Trump’s overture any time soon unless he is promised bigger concessions.
In response to Trump’s previous outreach, Kim suggested last year that he can return to talks only after the US drops its demand of a North Korean denuclearisation as a precondition for diplomacy.
Trump and Kim met three times from 2018-2019 but their high-stakes diplomacy eventually fell apart over wrangling over a North Korean demand for extensive sanctions relief in return for limited denuclearisation steps.
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Some planned field training was also expected to be postponed or cancelled, the reports said.
US Forces Korea declined to comment and referred questions to the Pentagon. The Pentagon did not ‌immediately respond to a request for comment, while South Korea’s Defence Ministry also had no immediate comment.



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US, South Korea slash joint military drills by half as Trump eyes Kim summit

US Army’s soldiers conduct a training exercise on a river in Yeoncheon, South Korea, on Tuesday. Photo: AP

US Forces Korea commander General Xavier Brunson leaves the Defence Ministry in Seoul after discussing cutbacks to the Ulchi exercise on Tuesday. Photo: Yonhap/AP

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung (second right) speaks during a cabinet meeting at the presidential office in Seoul on Tuesday. Photo: Yonhap/AP

US Army armoured vehicles gather to cross a river at a training field in Yeoncheon, South Korea, on Tuesday. Photo: AP

An Athena-R reconnaissance plane prepares to take off from US Army’s Camp Humphreys, near Pyeongtaek, on Tuesday. Photo: Yonhap/EPA

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South Korean President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a cabinet meeting at the presidential office in Seoul on Tuesday, Photo: Yonhap/AP

Jang Do-young, public affairs director of South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Ryan Donald, public affairs director of the United Nations Command, attend a press briefing in Seoul on the 2026 Ulchi drills. Photo: Reuters

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump meet on the south side of the Military Demarcation Line in the Joint Security Area of Panmunjom on June 30, 2019. Photo: AFP

A US Army vehicle crosses a bridge in Yeoju on the Namhan River during the 2025 Ulchi military drill. Photo: AP

A TV screen at Seoul Station shows a news report that North Korea fired a ballistic missile towards the East Sea last week. Photo: EPA

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US soldiers seen near military vehicles at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek on Monday as a  joint military drill between South Korea and the US kicks off. Photo: AFP

US President Donald Trump meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Sentosa Island in Singapore on June 12, 2018. Photo: AP

An F-35C Lightning II seen on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln on August 5 during the ongoing conflict with Iran. Photo: US Navy/Reuters

South Korean protesters attend a rally to oppose the joint military exercise between South Korea and the US named Ulchi Freedom Shield in front of the US embassy in Seoul on Monday. Photo: AFP

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A US Navy landing craft operates in Sasebo Bay in August 2020. Photo: US Pacific Fleet

Wang Yi heads to Seoul as Trump cuts South Korea drills, opening door for China

Donald Trump posted a call to “substantially” reduce US-South Korea military drills a day before the allies began their annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise. Photo: Handout

A US army base near the demilitarised zone separating the two Koreas, in Dongducheon, South Korea. Photo: Reuters

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East Asia

The allies will complete the first, defensive phase and cancel next week’s counter-attack phase


The allies will complete the first, defensive phase and cancel next week’s counter-attack phase.


US, South Korea slash joint military drills by half as Trump eyes Kim summit

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The allies will complete the first, defensive phase and cancel next week’s counter-attack phase

The allies will complete the first, defensive phase and cancel next week’s counter-attack phase