Republican Rep. Rich McCormick urged President Donald Trump to restore the U.S.-South Korea combined military exercises.
McCormick, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, appeared on the weekend current affairs TV program "Bloomberg This Weekend" on the 22nd (local time) and said, "I hope the (reduction of the U.S.-South Korea combined exercises) is temporary," conveying the same message.
McCormick also said of South Korea that it should "maintain a closer relationship with us (the United States)," adding that ties among "other countries that basically want to do communism" should not become closer than the U.S.-South Korea relationship.
McCormick, a former military physician, said that while serving overseas he spent time with South Korean troops and noted that "(integration with foreign allies) is very good for our (the United States') power projection." He added, "(President Trump) has far more than I do," but also raised questions, saying, "I don't know exactly what factors played into (the decision to scale back the military exercises)."
Earlier, on the 16th (local time), President Trump wrote on Truth Social, "Given that Kim Jong-un and I have a very good relationship, I have long disliked the fact that the United States has agreed to participate in combined military exercises with South Korea," and ordered defense secretary Pete Hegseth to drastically reduce the scale of the U.S.-South Korea combined exercises. Accordingly, the South Korean and U.S. military authorities shortened the "Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS)" period, originally scheduled from the 17th to the 27th of this month, to the 21st and also reduced its scale.