Trump orders 'substantial' cut in military drills with South Korea after it stayed out of Iran war

President Donald Trump on Sunday ordered the Pentagon to “substantially” scale back planned joint military exercises with South Korea, citing Seoul’s refusal to join US efforts to “denuclearise” Iran. Trump also cited his relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as reasons for scaling back the exercises. In a post on social media, Trump said the exercises scheduled to begin this week “send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile” to North Korea, which he said “has been unthreatening and respectful” during his presidency. “Therefore, and based on the fact that it is too late to cancel, I have instructed Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to substantially reduce the Joint Military Exercises!” Trump wrote. He added that he had recently asked South Korea's president whether the country wanted to join the US in its efforts to denuclearise Iran, but “they said, ‘No thanks!’” The 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises involve about 18,000 South Korean soldiers and are aimed at strengthening the allies' readiness against potential threats from North Korea. North Korea had on Friday condemned the drills as a “rehearsal for an aggressive war” and threatened unspecified countermeasures against the US and South Korea. The US military has said the exercises are designed to strengthen the alliance and include complex joint operations, including live-fire exercises, precision targeting and manoeuvres, a wet-gap crossing and the distribution of pre-positioned military equipment. The drills come days after North Korea resumed ballistic missile testing. Earlier this month, South Korea, the US and Japan detected the launch of a short-range ballistic missile from North Korea, its first such test since late June. Trump hails Saudi-Turkey-Pakistan defence pactTrump also welcomed the newly signed defence agreement between Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan, calling it a “big, bold” first step. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said, “Very happy to see that Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan have recently, and finally, signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement.” “It shows how the Middle East is coming together, and how Countries will finally be able to defend themselves in a more meaningful way,” he said. “This is a big, bold, and important first step — wow!” Trump added. The trilateral pact, signed at a joint defence summit attended by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, seeks to strengthen security cooperation among the three countries. According to Pakistan's foreign ministry, the agreement is based on their historical ties, shared strategic interests and longstanding defence cooperation. It includes a commitment that an armed attack against any one of the three countries would be regarded as an attack against all three.