Trump has ordered the Pentagon to reduce America’s joint military exercises with South Korea, but this is not simply about saving money or suddenly deciding that North Korea poses no threat.
Trump said that North Korea has been “unthreatening and respectful” toward the United States and argued that the exercises with South Korea are unnecessary and provocative given his relationship with Kim Jong Un. He instructed the Pentagon to “substantially reduce” the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises, which began August 17 and were scheduled to involve approximately 18,000 South Korean troops. Trump has opposed these exercises before and suspended major drills after his 2018 summit with Kim, so his objection to them is certainly not new. What is different this time is that he publicly connected his anger toward South Korea to Iran.
Seoul has one of the most heavily militarized borders on Earth sitting directly in front of it, yet Washington apparently expects South Korea to become involved in another Middle Eastern war simply because America decided to become involved. When Seoul refused, Trump publicly complained about that refusal while ordering military exercises with South Korea reduced. Call it diplomacy if you want, but the message to every American ally is obvious: if you refuse to participate in Washington’s wars, do not assume Washington will treat your own security concerns the same way.
South Korea has been extremely careful regarding Iran from the beginning. Washington explored transferring Patriot missile systems connected to U.S. forces in South Korea to support the Iran war, creating obvious concerns in Seoul because those systems exist in Korea for a reason. South Korea later considered participating in efforts to protect navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, but Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back made clear that Seoul was examining steps short of direct military participation. Reuters reported in May that Ahn had not discussed a South Korean military contribution with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. South Korea was willing to protect its economic interests and shipping, but it did not want to be dragged directly into America’s war.
The Iran war has already cost South Korea economically. Seoul’s parliament approved a 26.2 trillion won supplemental budget, about $17.7 billion, specifically to cushion its economy from the consequences of the conflict. South Korea is already paying for a war it did not start without volunteering its military to fight it.
South Korea has supported Ukraine politically, economically and through humanitarian assistance, but it has traditionally resisted directly supplying lethal weapons because it understood the consequences of inserting itself into the war. That position has become increasingly difficult as North Korea strengthen ties with Russia. Zelensky now claims that as many as 50,000 North Korean troops could be deployed in Russia and has been openly pressuring Seoul to provide Ukraine with additional air-defense capabilities and cooperate on drone technology.
North Korea is not some theoretical enemy thousands of miles away. It is sitting immediately across the border with nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. Pyongyang fired another ballistic missile only days before the latest American-South Korean exercises, its 11th suspected missile test of the year. North Korea then denounced the exercises and warned that it would strengthen its nuclear deterrent.
This is what makes Trump’s decision so extraordinary. He is simultaneously telling the world that North Korea has been respectful toward America while expressing anger that South Korea will not help America fight Iran. The national interests of the United States and South Korea are not identical. A competent foreign policy recognizes that allies cooperate where their interests overlap rather than demanding obedience everywhere on Earth.
Trump is correct that the endless military exercises deserve scrutiny. He is also correct that constantly conducting war games while claiming to seek negotiations with North Korea sends contradictory signals. If there is an opportunity to negotiate with Kim Jong Un and reduce tensions on the Korean Peninsula, then by all means negotiate. Trump accomplished more by sitting across a table from Kim than generations of politicians accomplished by screaming threats at North Korea.
Yet America cannot demand that every ally join every American war. This is the same insanity that transformed NATO from a defensive alliance into a geopolitical machine operating far beyond its original purpose.
There is another problem Washington refuses to confront. The attack on Iran has almost certainly reinforced North Korea’s determination never to surrender its nuclear arsenal. So Washington bombs Iran, potentially reinforces North Korea’s conviction that nuclear weapons guarantee regime survival, becomes angry when South Korea refuses to participate in the Iran conflict, and then reduces exercises intended to deter the nuclear-armed North Korea sitting on South Korea’s border.
Support Washington’s war and Washington supports you. Refuse and perhaps the relationship changes. That does not strengthen alliances. It encourages every country to develop an independent military policy because eventually they will conclude that American protection comes with conditions unrelated to their own defense.