Trump Orders Cut to US-South Korea Drills, Citing Friendship with Kim Jong Un

Trump said the reason for the order was his close relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The UFS exercise had already begun when the order was issued.

UFS drills were once held on a large scale, but their size has gradually shrunk in recent years. In 2024, field maneuver training was held as many as 48 times.

In 2025, 44 sessions were originally planned, but the August portion was cut to 22, and the remaining 20-odd sessions were spread out between September and December. For 2026, the plan was drastically reduced from the start to a total of 14 sessions.

Although the order to cut the drills came from Trump, some suggest the request from Seoul may have been stronger than Washington's.

Reports earlier this year, during the Freedom Shield exercise in March, said South Korea had asked for the drills to be reduced or spread across the year. This suggests the US may have accommodated a request that originated in Seoul.

It covers not only combat but also how government agencies respond.

Dispersed training, by contrast, has lower training density and less external visibility. This can be interpreted as a tactical shift aimed at reducing provocation toward the North arising from the drills.

Trump cited the enormous cost of the drills as one reason for the reduction. He said on social media that Kim Jong Un had not been threatened and maintained good relations during his presidency, so there was no need to spend money on large-scale hostile exercises.

Trump also expressed skepticism about maintaining US forces in South Korea, pointing to Seoul's refusal to join denuclearization efforts. This is directly tied to the question of how the alliance shares costs.

The first is adherence to the 'Fight Tonight' principle. This is also the motto of US Forces Korea, meaning forces must remain ready to fight at any time.

The second principle is modernization of the US-ROK alliance, emphasizing the need to strengthen and evolve alliance capabilities to match a changing security environment. The third is a focus on creating a security environment in Northeast Asia.

These three principles reflect the strategic goals and direction of the US-ROK alliance beyond the mere scale of the drills. Despite the reduction, they suggest that the core objectives of basic readiness, alliance modernization, and contribution to regional security will remain.