US President Trump said on social media on Aug. 16 ET that, citing his good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and that the drills are costly and largely paid for by the US, he has instructed the US defense secretary to sharply scale b

2026-08-17

US President Trump said on social media on Aug. 16 ET that, citing his good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and that the drills are costly and largely paid for by the US, he has instructed the US defense secretary to sharply scale back upcoming US-South Korea joint military exercises. He added he recently asked South Korea's president to join US efforts to push Iran to denuclearize, and that Seoul declined.