“Not only are these exercises expensive, with most of the costs paid for by the United States of America (as usual!), but they also send a completely inappropriate and hostile message to a country that, while Donald Trump was president, behaved inoffensively and respectfully,” he wrote on Truth Social.
It is too late to completely cancel the planned maneuvers, Trump admitted. Therefore, he instructed Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to “substantially reduce” their scale.
Trump also mentioned Seoul’s refusal to join the “denuclearization of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” a proposal Trump allegedly made to the South Korean president. This post is currently occupied by Lee Jae Myung.
“They said, 'No, thank you!'” Trump wrote.
Trump revealed more details of the conversation later Monday while answering questions from reporters at the White House. According to him, he offered Seoul to provide assistance to the United States in the operation against Iran, but only if South Korea wanted it, since in general the United States did not need help, Trump claims.
“I asked, 'What do you mean?' We have 39,000 soldiers there protecting you from Kim Jong-un, and you are not going to help us with Iran? This is weird”. Then why are we helping you? “Protecting South Korea costs us billions of dollars,” Trump commented on the Korean side’s refusal.
During the same conversation with reporters, Trump said that he and Kim Jong-un understand each other, and revealed that the DPRK leader agreed to negotiate with him.
Trump met personally with Kim Jong Un several times during his first term as president. In 2019, he became the first sitting US president to set foot in North Korea, crossing the demarcation line that separates South Korea from North Korea.
Updated to include Trump's statements from the White House
