US-South Korea military drills begin amid Trump push to scale back maneuvers
Joint US-South Korea military drills have begun as Donald Trump announced plans to scale down future exercises, while Seoul pledged continued close coordination.
Joint military maneuvers between the United States and South Korea have commenced according to schedule, even as US President Donald Trump announced intentions to significantly reduce future bilateral exercises. Trump criticized the drills as overly costly and described them as sending an inappropriately hostile signal toward North Korea, while highlighting his diplomatic ties with Kim Jong Un.
Although the 11-day "Ulchi Freedom Shield" exercises incorporate thousands of troops alongside a slightly reduced number of field operations compared to previous iterations, officials in Seoul confirmed that the maneuvers are proceeding as planned. South Korea's government stressed that it will continue maintaining close coordination and security cooperation with Washington moving forward.
Sources: Der Spiegel, DW, FAZ, ORF, Tagesschau.
Sources
- ORF — Trump will Militärübungen mit Südkorea verringern
- Tagesschau — Südkorea und USA beginnen gemeinsame Militärübung
- DW — Trump bremst Militärmanöver mit Südkorea aus
- Der Spiegel — Südkorea: Regierung setzt trotz Trump-Kritik auf enge Kooperation mit USA
- FAZ — USA unter Trump: Südkorea will sich mit den USA weiter „eng koordinieren“
Earlier coverage
- Aug 21, 2026, 04:00 AM UTCSouth Korea and US launch joint military drills despite Trump's push for cuts
- Aug 19, 2026, 03:00 AM UTCSouth Korea vows close US ties despite Trump push to scale back military drills
- Aug 18, 2026, 03:30 AM UTCTrump seeks to scale back joint military drills with South Korea