South Korea on Monday expressed hopes for resumption of diplomacy between the US and North Korea to ease animosities on the Korean Peninsula, hours after US President Donald Trump said he ordered annual US military exercises with South Korea to be scaled back.
Trump cited his good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for the decision. The announcement baffled many in South Korea, a key US ally in Asia where national security is a top priority due to threats from nuclear-armed North Korea.
The 11-day, summertime Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises began Monday morning as scheduled and it wasn’t known which parts of the training were being downsized.
North Korea did not immediately respond to the announcement. North Korea previously threatened strong responses to the US-South Korean exercises, which it views as an invasion rehearsal.
Experts say Trump’s step signals his willingness to reengage with Kim, but the North Korean leader, now emboldened by his advancing nuclear arsenal and expanding military cooperation with Russia, won’t likely return to talks unless he is assured of serious US concessions.
Trump said in a social media post that the exercises are not only costly but “send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile” to North Korea, which he said “has been unthreatening and respectful” during his time in the White House.
Trump instructed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to “substantially reduce” the exercises, he said, adding that he recently asked South Korean President Lee Jae Myung if they would join the US in the “denuclearisation” of Iran, “and they said, ‘No thanks!’”
Trump’s move is the latest example of the American president appearing to turn against an ally in favour of a leader cast by previous administrations as an adversary. Trump and others in his administration also have railed against NATO allies over a perceived lack of support for his war against Iran, even as they seek to confront an increasingly aggressive Russia in the Baltic region.
The trust many South Koreans have in the US has eroded following a tariff war instigated by Trump’s administration and his transactional approach to security.
Lee’s presidential office said later Monday that South Korea hopes “friendly relationship” between Trump and Kim would lead to “meaningful dialogue” between the US and North Korea and start discussions on promoting peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. It said that South Korea will make necessary diplomatic efforts for that.
South Korea and the US are closely discussing practical and military contributions that can be made to restore freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, according to South Korea’s presidential office, which said the countries have been closely coordinating over their joint military drills and readiness.
Lee is a liberal who espouses improved ties with North Korea. Since taking office last year, his government has taken proactive steps to improve ties with North Korea, including turning off front line loudspeakers that blared K-pop music and world news and banning activists from flying balloons carrying propaganda leaflets toward North Korea.
On Saturday, Lee offered to hold talks to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.
But North Korea has shunned any talks with South Korea and the US since Kim’s high-stakes nuclear diplomacy with Trump broke down in 2019.
Kim has since used the long-running diplomatic stalemate with the US and South Korea to expand his nuclear and missile arsenals by accelerating weapons tests and ramping up production of nuclear materials. He also has bolstered his diplomatic credentials by aligning with Russia over its war against Ukraine and taking steps to deepen co-operation with China.
In September 2025, Kim said he held “good personal memories” of Trump but suggested he could only resume talks with the American president if the US drops “its delusional obsession with denuclearisation” of North Korea.
Experts say Kim likely aims to win major concessions like extensive sanctions relief in return for limited denuclearisation steps.
“Trump’s recent social media posts about Kim Jong Un suggest a willingness to reengage, but North Korea is busy profiting from Russia’s war against Ukraine while modernizing its own military,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul.
Downsizing the US and South Korean drills “can damage alliance coordination, slow the process of South Korea taking on greater responsibility for its own defense, and weaken deterrence against possible conflicts in Asia,” Easley said.
