U.S. senators publicly pushed back against President Donald Trump's order to scale down the U.S.-South Korea combined exercises and urged a return to the original scale of the drills. They said reducing the exercises could undermine interoperability and readiness of U.S. Forces Korea and the South Korean military and send the wrong signal to North Korea.
On the 18th (local time), Republican Sen. Thom Tillis and Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly sent a letter to President Trump and defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, expressing concern over the decision to scale down the U.S.-South Korea combined exercises and calling for maintaining the level of readiness required for the drills.
In the letter, the two senators said, "The U.S.-South Korea alliance has supported peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and in the Indo-Pacific for more than 70 years," and noted, "The ability of the two militaries to conduct operations together is not a given; it is maintained through repeated, realistic combined training."
They opposed reducing the drills in particular because North Korea continues to develop nuclear and ballistic missiles and conventional capabilities, and because North Korean troops are gaining combat experience by supporting Russia's war in Ukraine. They also cited North Korea's strengthening cooperation with Russia and China as a factor heightening security threats on the Korean Peninsula.
The senators mentioned the U.S.-South Korea combined exercise "Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS)" and stressed that it is essential for checking command and control, combined operations, logistics support, and the ability to respond to new threats.
They added, "Scaling back the drills risks weakening interoperability and readiness while sending the wrong signal to North Korea and other potential adversaries."
They also argued that this decision should not be linked to Korea's policy toward the United States regarding Middle East issues. The two senators said, "Decisions on force posture and training should be based on military necessity and the security of the United States and its allies, not political retaliation."
They also made clear that diplomacy toward North Korea should go hand in hand with military deterrence. The senators said, "Diplomacy and deterrence are not mutually exclusive," and emphasized, "Diplomacy toward North Korea is in fact strengthened when backed by a prepared U.S.-South Korea alliance."
The two senators urged the Trump administration to reconsider the decision to scale down the U.S.-South Korea combined exercises and, even if the size and scope of future drills are adjusted, to decide only after comprehensively assessing U.S. commanders' recommendations and the impact on U.S. readiness and deterrence against North Korea.
They asked the Department of Defense to report to Congress on how scaling down the drills would affect the interoperability of the U.S. and South Korean militaries, force readiness, deterrence against North Korea on the Korean Peninsula, and U.S. Forces Korea's ability to execute operational plans.
Earlier, President Trump mentioned a plan to reduce the scale of the U.S.-South Korea combined exercises. The South Korean government has said the reduction should not affect the timeline for the transfer of wartime operational control. North Korea dismissed the scaled-down exercises by saying it felt "no interest whatsoever," while also arguing that the continuation of the drills itself is an expression of a hostile policy toward North Korea.