South Korea and United States Shorten Joint Military Exercises Following Trump Order
21 sources across 14 countries · 1 of them is linked to a state
Who reported this
- Asahi Shimbun
- Kyodo News
- The Japan Times
- The Guardian
- BBC News
- Reuters
- Der Spiegel
- Frankfurter Allgemeine
- Yonhap
- The Korea Herald
- CNN
- Bloomberg
- Infobae
- Politico Europe
- La Tercera
- Le Monde
- South China Morning Post
- Telex
- Corriere della Sera
- Philippine Daily Inquirer
- El Pais
What the colours mean
- Left
- Centre-left
- Centre
- Centre-right
- Right
- A hatched block means the outlet is affiliated with, or controlled by, a state.
Political lean describes where an outlet sits within the politics of its own country. It is never a position on a single global scale.
Political lean is comparable inside one country and not across them, which is why the bar groups by country first. Publicly funded broadcasters are not marked as state-linked.
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South Korea and the United States have agreed to shorten their annual joint military exercise, known as Ulchi Freedom Shield, at the request of U.S. President Donald Trump. The drills, which began on Monday, will now conclude on Friday, August 21, instead of the originally scheduled date of August 27. The South Korean military and the Pentagon confirmed that the scale of the exercise has been reduced, with some live training events canceled or converted into simulations. South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back stated that the allies are leaning toward canceling the second half of the exercise, which focuses on counterattack scenarios.
President Trump announced his desire to scale back the maneuvers on social media, describing the exercises as costly and sending a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile toward North Korea. He cited his very good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as a justification for the reduction. Additionally, Trump explicitly linked the decision to South Korea's refusal to assist the United States in a military operation against Iran. South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun told a parliamentary hearing that neither South Korean nor U.S. officials had been informed of the president's plans in advance.
North Korean state media, via the KCNA, condemned the drills as a rehearsal for an aggressive war and a threat to regional security, though reports indicate that Pyongyang did not mention Trump's order to reduce the exercises. Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reported that President Trump is pushing aides to arrange an in-person meeting with Kim Jong Un this autumn, potentially during the APEC summit in China in November.
In response to the unpredictability of the U.S. alliance, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has called for accelerated efforts to regain wartime operational control of South Korean forces from the United States by 2030 and has emphasized the need for greater defense self-reliance.
How each side framed it
- Centre-left
- These outlets highlighted the instability caused by Trump's unpredictability and the potential crisis in Asia-Pacific security strategy.
- Centre
- These outlets focused on the logistical changes to the drills and the official statements from both governments.
- Centre-right
- These outlets emphasized the link between the military cuts and South Korea's refusal to join U.S. efforts regarding Iran.
Sources
- Centre-left Asahi Shimbun: KCNA criticizes US South Korea exercises; does not mention Trump's "reduction" remarks
- Centre BBC News: South Korea shortens war games with US, citing Washington request
- Centre Bloomberg: US, South Korea Curtail Military Drills After Trump Order
- Centre-left CNN: ‘Tremendous unease in South Korea’: Veteran U.S. diplomat on Trump pull-back
- Centre-left CNN: Military drills between US and South Korea cut short at Washington’s request
- Centre-right Corriere della Sera: Trump orders the stop to US-South Korea joint exercises. And he wants a meeting with Kim Jong-un
- Centre-left Der Spiegel: USA cut maneuvers with South Korea short after Trump's word
- Centre-left El Pais: US strategy in crisis in Asia-Pacific
- Centre-right Frankfurter Allgemeine: USA under Trump: Trump suspends announced tariffs against Canada at the last minute
- Centre-right Infobae: Pyongyang denounces the maneuvers between Washington and Seoul as the "most immediate threat"
- Centre-right Infobae: US and South Korea agreed to reduce the duration of their military exercises after Trump's statements about Kim Jong-un and Iran
- Centre Kyodo News: South Korea, U.S. to shorten annual military exercise
- Centre Kyodo News: BREAKING NEWS: N. Korea media criticizes ongoing U.S.-S. Korea drills after Trump comments
- Centre-right La Tercera: USA and South Korea halve military exercises after Trump's request
- Centre-left Le Monde: Joint military exercises of South Korea and the United States shortened by six days, Seoul announces after criticisms issued by Donald Trump
- Centre Philippine Daily Inquirer: N. Korea media slams joint US-South Korea drills as 'open threat'
- Centre Politico Europe: Trump’s threats to Seoul may be worse than their bite
- Centre Reuters: US, South Korea to cut length, scope of military drills after Trump order - Reuters
- Centre-right South China Morning Post: US, South Korea slash joint military drills by half as Trump eyes Kim summit
- Centre-right South China Morning Post: South Korea accelerates military self-reliance over Trump’s ‘unpredictability’
- Centre Telex: US-South Korea military exercise shortened by half
- Centre-left The Guardian: US-led drills to end six days early, South Korea says, amid Trump push for Kim Jong-un talks
- Centre The Japan Times: Trump’s South Korea move creates more headaches for Takaichi
- Centre The Japan Times: U.S. and South Korea to nearly halve joint military drills after Trump criticism
- Centre-right The Korea Herald: N. Korea warns of 'self-defense' measures despite Trump's order to reduce drills with S. Korea
- Centre-right The Korea Herald: S. Korea, US halve UFS exercise after Trump calls for reduction
- Centre-right The Korea Herald: S. Korea was unaware of joint military drill scale-down before Trump's social media post: foreign minister
- Centre-right The Korea Herald: S. Korea, US sharply reduce joint military exercise following Trump order
- Centre-right The Korea Herald: North Korea condemns US-South Korea drills despite Trump order to scale back
- Centre Yonhap: (URGENT) Pentagon: S. Korea-U.S. exercise adjustments preserve 'essential readiness,' no degradation to training objectives
- Centre Yonhap: (URGENT) S. Korea, U.S. to cut short combined exercise to Friday: S. Korean military
- Centre Yonhap: (LEAD) S. Korea, U.S. cut short joint military exercise following Trump order
- Centre Yonhap: (URGENT) S. Korea, U.S. to partly reduce scope of combined field training during UFS: S. Korean military
- Centre Yonhap: (LEAD) Pentagon says adjustments to S. Korea-U.S. exercise will not degrade training objectives
- Centre Yonhap: S. Korea, U.S. sharply reduce joint military exercise following Trump order
- Centre Yonhap: (2nd LD) S. Korea, U.S. cut short joint military exercise following Trump order
- Centre Yonhap: Seoul not notified in advance of Trump's order to scale back drills: FM Cho
- Centre Yonhap: N. Korea warns of 'self-defense' measures despite Trump's order to reduce drills with S. Korea
- Centre Yonhap: Pentagon says adjustments to S. Korea-U.S. exercise will not degrade training objectives
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