U.S. President Donald Trump said on the 16th (local time) that he instructed defense secretary Pete Hegseth to drastically scale down the U.S.-South Korea combined exercises.
Trump said on Truth Social that day, "Given that North Korea Chairperson Kim Jong-un and I have a very good relationship, I have long disliked the fact that the United States has agreed to take part in combined military exercises with South Korea."
He added that such U.S.-South Korea combined exercises not only cost a lot of expense but also "send an inappropriate and hostile signal" to a country that is not threatening to the United States and has respected the United States.
He went on to say, "Accordingly, taking into account that it is now too late to cancel, I instructed the Minister Hegseth to drastically scale down the combined exercises."
Trump's remarks came ahead of the U.S.-South Korea combined exercise Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS), which runs from the 17th to the 27th.
Trump also said he recently asked President Lee Jae-myung "whether they were willing to join efforts for Iran's denuclearization, but they said, 'No thanks!'"