SEOUL, South Korea – August 7: (L-R) Col. Lee Sung-joon, Director of Public Affairs of the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Col. Ryan Donald, Director of Public Affairs for United Nations Command (UNC), Combined Forces Command (CFC), and U.S. Forces Korea (U.S. Forces Korea), bump fists during a press conference for Exercise Ulchi Freedom Shield 2025 at the Ministry of Defense on August 7. 2025, Seoul, South Korea. The 11-day Freedom Shield is part of an annual joint training exercise between South Korean and U.S. militaries. (Photo provided by Jung Sung-joon/Getty Images)
Jung Sung Joon | Getty Images News | Getty Images
President Donald Trump’s move to drastically scale back U.S.-South Korea military exercises will not only affect the combat readiness of both countries but also undermine the credibility of the U.S. commitment to the alliance.
Lieutenant General Chun In-beom, former commander of the South Korean Special Warfare Forces, said bluntly: “Cutting down joint exercises like Ulchi Freedom Shield while the North Korean military is gaining combat experience in Ukraine will create a dangerous operational disconnect.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said earlier this month that North Korea would send up to 50,000 more troops to support Moscow, pointing to the gradual increase in North Korean troops deployed to Kiev.
The Ulchi Freedom Shield joint exercise, which began on August 17th, will end on Friday, ahead of the original schedule of August 27th.
The amendments came after President Trump ordered Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to “drastically scale back” joint exercises with South Korea “so as not to send a completely inappropriate and hostile signal” to North Korea, a move said to have caught South Korea by surprise.
South Korean and U.S. soldiers pose for a photo after a live-fire exercise at the Pocheon Military Training Range as part of the annual South Korean-U.S. Freedom Shield joint military exercise, March 14, 2024. (Photo provided by: JUNG YEON-JE/POOL/AFP) (Photo provided by: JUNG YEON-JE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Jung Young Jae | AFP | Getty Images
Chung said the North Korean military has refined modern tactics such as drone warfare, electronic warfare and artillery integration in real-world combat situations, and the U.S.-South Korea alliance relies on large-scale exercises to stress-test systems and adapt to these evolving threats.
“Restricting readiness testing to political gestures weakens joint countermeasures and undermines deterrence, just as our adversary’s battlefield proficiency expands,” he said.
However, U.S. officials told Reuters that the reduction in training would not compromise U.S. training objectives and that important readiness and training objectives would be maintained.
reliability is questionable
While the immediate effect will be a decline in the combat readiness of allied forces, experts say Trump’s move will also begin to raise questions about the credibility of the U.S. commitment to the alliance.
At a time when confidence in the United States’ security efforts is already nearing one of its lowest points in recent history,[this move]seriously undermines that credibility.
Rami Kim
Korean Chair of Advanced Technology, National Security and Defense, IISS
“This seriously undermines the credibility of the U.S. security effort at a time when it is already nearing one of its lowest points in recent history,” said Rami Kim, chair of Korea Advanced Technology, National Security and Defense at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
Speaking at the White House on Wednesday, President Trump hardened his stance, saying the joint exercise was “a very insulting insult to someone who, frankly, has been very well-behaved, at least during my term.”
This is not the first time President Trump has canceled joint exercises with North Korea in an effort to improve relations with North Korea. During his first term, the US president suspended military exercises while negotiations with North Korea continued.
Yeoju County, South Korea – August 27: U.S. and South Korean soldiers from the 2nd Infantry Division participate in a river crossing exercise as part of Exercise Ulchi Freedom Shield, August 27, 2025 in Yeoju County, South Korea. The 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise is a regular joint military exercise between the U.S. and South Korean militaries to prepare for potential emergencies on the Korean Peninsula. (Photo provided by Jeon Sung-joon/Getty Images)
Jung Sung Joon | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Kim’s opinion is echoed by Henry Haggard, a former US diplomat based in Seoul. Haggard said the move could raise concerns among allies about the predictability and reliability of alliance guarantees with the United States.
Haggard said: “Given that Ukraine, Iran…some allies, South Korea among them, are having a hard time understanding the US position on Russia, North Korea and even China, this announced reduction looks like a bad strategic move overall.”
However, some experts see the reduction in military exercises as a positive move, suggesting that if joint exercises are escalating tensions, reducing them should reduce the likelihood of conflict.
Jennifer Kavanaugh, senior fellow and director of military analysis at Defense Priorities, told CNBC that reducing the number of military exercises could create a more stable and less hostile military environment for both the United States and South Korea.
He said that when the United States conducts military exercises in Asia, “countries such as China and North Korea respond by increasing their military activities in the region, conducting their own exercises, and testing new weapons and missiles.”
There will be no immediate concessions from North Korea on reducing drills, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, said on Thursday: “If the US calculates that it can promote its recent actions as so-called good faith, then it will not get the answer it wants.” She is also the chairman of the Central Committee of North Korea’s ruling party.
He added that North Korea is paying more attention to the fact that the drills are already taking place, rather than reducing them. “We rightly see that this is a clear display of hostility.”
