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Trump Orders Reduction of Joint Military Exercises with South Korea

morning · · thread: North Korea Condemns NATO Fuel Network Modernization as War Preparation

30 sources across 17 countries · 2 of them are linked to a state

Who reported this

  • CNN United States · Centre-left · Warner Bros. Discovery
  • Al-Monitor United States · Centre · Jamal Daniel
  • Associated Press United States · Centre · Non-profit news cooperative
  • Bloomberg United States · Centre · Bloomberg L.P. (Michael Bloomberg)
  • G1 Brazil · Centre-left · Grupo Globo (Marinho family)
  • CNN Brasil Brazil · Centre · Rubens Menin (MRV)
  • Folha de S.Paulo Brazil · Centre · Grupo Folha (Frias family)
  • Der Spiegel Germany · Centre-left · ~50% staff-owned
  • Deutsche Welle Germany · Centre · Public · German federal public-law corporation
  • Frankfurter Allgemeine Germany · Centre-right · FAZIT-Stiftung (foundation)
  • Asahi Shimbun Japan · Centre-left · Asahi Shimbun Company (family and employee held)
  • Kyodo News Japan · Centre · Non-profit publisher cooperative
  • The Japan Times Japan · Centre · News2u Holdings
  • The Guardian United Kingdom · Centre-left · Scott Trust Limited
  • BBC News United Kingdom · Centre · Public · Licence fee, royal charter
  • Reuters United Kingdom · Centre · Thomson Reuters Corporation
  • Le Monde France · Centre-left · Fonds pour l'independance de la presse
  • France 24 France · Centre · Public · France Medias Monde (French state holding)
  • Yonhap South Korea · Centre · State-affiliated · Cooperative; statutory national agency with state subsidy
  • The Korea Herald South Korea · Centre-right · Herald Corporation (Yeongpoong Group)
  • The Daily Star Bangladesh · Centre · Mediaworld Ltd
  • Politico Europe Belgium · Centre · Axel Springer SE
  • La Tercera Chile · Centre-right · Copesa (Saieh family)
  • South China Morning Post Hong Kong · Centre-right · Alibaba Group
  • Telex Hungary · Centre · Reader-funded, staff-owned
  • The Jerusalem Post Israel · Centre-right · Mirkaei Tikshoret (Eli Azur)
  • Aftenposten Norway · Centre-right · Schibsted, Tinius Trust foundation
  • Dawn Pakistan · Centre-left · Pakistan Herald Publications (Haroon family)
  • Al Jazeera Qatar · Centre-left · State-affiliated · Qatari government funded
  • Neue Zuercher Zeitung Switzerland · Centre-right · Dispersed shareholders, no controlling stake

What the colours mean

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U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that he has instructed the Pentagon to substantially reduce joint military exercises with South Korea. The order came hours before the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield drills were scheduled to begin on Monday. Trump stated on Truth Social that while it was too late to cancel the exercises entirely, he was not happy that the U.S. had previously agreed to participate. He cited the high cost of the drills, which he claimed are largely paid for by the United States, and argued that they send an inappropriate and hostile signal to North Korea. Trump specifically referenced his very good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, describing North Korea as unthreatening and respectful during his presidency.

In the same social media post, Trump mentioned a separate grievance regarding South Korea's refusal to join U.S. efforts toward the denuclearization of Iran. He noted that he had recently asked the South Korean president to join these actions, but the request was declined. The Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises are scheduled to run from August 17 to 27 and involve approximately 18,000 South Korean military personnel. This year's drills are designed to counter evolving North Korean capabilities, including cyberattacks, drones, and GPS disruption. These capabilities have been bolstered by North Korean troops gaining experience while fighting alongside Russia in Ukraine.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff and defense ministry stated that the drills began on Monday as scheduled and will proceed as previously notified. The White House and Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for more information on how the exercises will be reduced. North Korea has routinely denounced these drills as rehearsals for an invasion and recently conducted ballistic missile tests in protest. Some analysts suggest Trump's move is an attempt to create a diplomatic opening with Pyongyang, while others argue that a reduction rather than a full cancellation is unlikely to impress the North Korean leadership.

How each side framed it

Centre-left
These outlets highlighted the surprising nature of the announcement and framed it as part of a pattern of Trump undermining historical allies.
Centre
These outlets focused on the factual sequence of events and the strategic context of North Korean missile tests and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Centre-right
These outlets emphasized Trump's personal relationship with Kim Jong Un and the specific diplomatic friction regarding Iran.

Sources

100% of the statements in this article were traced back to the source articles listed above.