South Korea reviewing Trump's comments on downsizing drills, hopes for US-North Korea talks
The Blue House said it would continue diplomatic consultations on US-Korea military cooperation related to the Strait of Hormuz, while discussing details on joint military drills with the United States.
A US Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter flies at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek on Aug 17, 2026. (Photo: AFP/Yonhap)
SEOUL: South Korea's presidential Blue House said on Monday (Aug 17) it was reviewing US President Donald Trump's comments about scaling back joint military drills, adding that it hoped a favourable relationship between Washington and Pyongyang could lead to meaningful talks.
In a statement, the Blue House said it would continue diplomatic consultations on US-Korea military cooperation related to the Strait of Hormuz, while discussing details on joint military drills with the United States.
Trump said he ordered the Pentagon to scale back "inappropriate and hostile" military drills with South Korea, hours before the exercises began on Monday. He cited his "good relationship" with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and said he was unhappy about the drills that are designed to prepare for a possible attack by Pyongyang.
As it was too late to cancel the drills, Trump said he had ordered Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to "substantially reduce" them.
The Blue House said it remained in "close coordination" with Washington on the exercises, while the defence ministry said the manoeuvres had kicked off as "previously notified and scheduled".
It added in a statement to AFP that Seoul and Washington "have maintained close coordination on maintaining a firm combined defence posture and on their joint exercises and training, and will continue to coordinate closely".
The office "hopes that the friendly relationship between the leaders of the United States and North Korea will lead to meaningful dialogue", it said.
Colonel Ryan Donald, spokesman for the US and South Korean Combined Forces Command, had said the drills would simulate combat against North Korean troops battle-hardened by deployment in the Russia-Ukraine war.
The exercise - comprising 18,000 South Korean troops and counterparts from US forces in the country - will have a heightened focus on drone warfare, GPS disruption and the role of cyber attacks, he added.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung 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 frontline loudspeakers that blared K-pop music and world news.
On Saturday, Lee offered to hold talks to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.
North Korea has shunned any talks with South Korea and the US and accelerated weapons testing activities since Kim's high-stakes nuclear diplomacy with Trump broke down in 2019. Kim also has bolstered his diplomatic credentials by aligning with Russia over its war against Ukraine and taking steps to deepen cooperation with China.
In September 2025, Kim suggested he could resume talks with the American president if the US drops “its delusional obsession with denuclearisation” of North Korea. Experts say Kim likely aims to use his enlarged nuclear arsenal to win major concessions like extensive sanctions relief.
“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 modernising 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 defence, and weaken deterrence against possible conflicts in Asia”, Easley said.
Duyeon Kim, a senior analyst at Washington’s Center for a New American Security, said “reducing joint drills weakens military readiness over time against another potential North Korean attack”.
The top US Senate Democrat on military affairs slammed Trump's order as "inane" and "haphazard".
"When President Trump cuts military exercises to flatter a dictator or punishes South Korea for declining to join a war he started, all of our allies - and adversaries - think that America's commitments are negotiable," said Senate Armed Services Committee ranking member Jack Reed in a statement.
He called the decision a "propaganda victory" for North Korea's Kim and punishment "for no reason beyond Trump's ego" for South Korea.
"China and Russia are watching how easily this president abandons America's allies, and they will remember it the next time they test us," Reed said.
This is not the first time Trump has sought to suspend the drills. After his first summit with Kim in 2018, Trump unilaterally announced the suspension of the US-South Korean summertime exercises, calling them “very provocative” and “tremendously expensive”.
Kim Dong-yub, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said North Korea feels less urgency to return to talks with the US and South Korea now than when it entered talks with its rivals in 2018, but is unlikely to completely ignore Trump's overture.
He predicted North Korea will likely say it has noted Trump's post but will wait for further action showing the US intends to drop hostilities against North Korea.
