SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – JUNE 6: South Korea’s new President Lee Jae-myung speaks during the Korean Remembrance Day ceremony at the Seoul National Cemetery on June 6, 2025 in Seoul, South Korea. South Korea is marking the 70th anniversary of Memorial Day, which commemorates those who died while serving in the military during the 1950-53 Korean War. (Photo courtesy of Jung Hong-kyun – Pool/Getty Images)
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South Korean President Lee Jae-myung said Tuesday that maintaining peace is “of paramount importance” for the country, but that it must prepare for the “worst-case scenario.”
His comments came after US President Donald Trump ordered Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to “significantly scale back” joint exercises with South Korea “so as not to send a completely inappropriate and hostile signal” to North Korea.
In a post to the US newspaper Truth Social on Sunday, President Trump cited his “very good” relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, calling the country “non-threatening and respectful.”
Lee said Tuesday that the annual exercise, known as Ulchi Freedom Shield, is defensive and not aimed at attacking North Korea or escalating tensions on the peninsula, according to CNBC’s translation of the South Korean announcement.
The joint military exercises, which began on Monday, are scheduled to run until August 27 and will involve about 18,000 South Korean military personnel.
North Korea has long criticized the joint exercises as a dry run for an invasion of North Korea.
“In doing so,[the United States]made no secret of its objective to complete preparations for a substantive military conflict with North Korea,” the country’s foreign ministry said in a statement last week.
He added, “This is tantamount to an admission that the United States and South Korea describe what they describe as an ‘annual’ and ‘defensive’ exercise as a dry run for a war of aggression.”
President Trump’s comments also accused South Korea of not helping the United States in its conflict with Iran, saying on Monday, “We have 39,000 soldiers over there protecting you from your neighbor, Kim Jong Un, and you’re not going to cooperate with us in a very simple military operation in Iran.”
US Forces Korea, the commanding agency of US Forces Korea, is comprised of approximately 28,500 members.
South Korean media reported on Monday that South Korean officials at the presidential office said, “We are in close consultation with the U.S. side regarding practical and military contribution plans, taking into account various factors such as preparedness on the Korean Peninsula and domestic legal procedures.”
Victor Cha, South Korea chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Trump is using the rhetoric and timing of the exercise to try to coax North Korea’s Kim into talks.
“This is not unusual. We’ve seen presidents use military exercises as a tool in the past,” Cha added on the CSIS podcast.
Back in 2018, President Trump canceled military exercises with South Korea due to negotiations between North Korea and the United States.
Cha also said that part of the reason we are in this situation now is that the timing of the exercises is a useful tool for Trump to send a concrete message and get headlines about Iran.
“Trump is fed up with Iran and is looking to move on to something else.”
—CNBC’s Jenny Lee contributed to this report.
