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

AdvertisementSouth KoreaAsiaEast AsiaUS, South Korea slash joint military drills by half as Trump eyes Kim summitThe allies are set to complete the first, defensive phase and cancel or defer next week’s counter-attack phase 2-MIN READ2-MIN ListenReutersPublished: 9:03am, 19 Aug 2026Scheduled joint US and South Korean military drills are expected to be cut by about half, according to South Korean media on Wednesday, following ‌President Donald Trump’s order to substantially reduce US participation in the annual exercises.The Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise, which began on Monday, had been due to run into next week. The allies were set to complete the first, defensive phase of the exercise this week and cancel or defer a second phase involving counter-attack operations, reports by broadcasters KBS, MBC, as well as newspapers Kyunghyang and DongA, said. 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.US Forces Korea commander General Xavier Brunson leaves the Defence Ministry in Seoul after discussing cutbacks to the Ulchi exercise on Tuesday. Photo: Yonhap/APThe reported reduction follows Trump’s order on Sunday to “substantially reduce” US participation in the annual exercise, ‌citing his “very good relationship” with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.Drills denouncedAdvertisementSelect VoiceSelect Speed0.8x0.9x1.0x1.1x1.2x1.5x1.75x00:0000:001.00x