At US President Trump’s request, US and South Korean forces held emergency talks on the 18th and agreed to sharply compress the ongoing Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise. Launched on the 17th and originally scheduled through the 27th in two phases, the drill will end this week after only the first defensive phase (17–21) is conducted; the planned second-phase counterattack exercises (23–27) were canceled. South Korean military sources said US personnel will withdraw after the defensive phase and can

At US President Trump’s request, US and South Korean forces held emergency talks on the 18th and agreed to sharply compress the ongoing Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise. Launched on the 17th and originally scheduled through the 27th in two phases, the drill will end this week after only the first defensive phase (17–21) is conducted; the planned second-phase counterattack exercises (23–27) were canceled. South Korean military sources said US personnel will withdraw after the defensive phase and canceled training items will be replaced by alternative measures; overall training time is reduced by about half.