#Trump says he ordered the #Pentagon to scale back “inappropriate and hostile” military #drills with #SouthKorea, hours before the exercises began on Monday. The drills under #UlchiFreedomShield, one of two major annual exercises held by South Korea and the #US, start on Monday and run until 27 August. They were expected to involve about 18,000 South Korean troops, alongside US forces and personnel from 11 of the 18 member states of the United Nations Command (UNC), the multinational body that oversees the 1953 armistice that halted hostilities of the Korean war. However, on Sunday evening, the US president said he was “not happy” with US participation “based on my very good relationship with #KimJongUn”. He added that they were costly and “send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile, to a country that, as long as Donald J Trump has been president, has been unthreatening and respectful”. Trump added that it was too late to cancel the drills so he had ordered the defence secretary, #PeteHegseth, to “substantially reduce” them. He also said South Korea had refused to help in the “denuclearisation of the Islamic republic of #Iran”. [ it should be noted that #NorthKorea sends troops, weapons & munitions to help #Putin in his war with #Ukraine ] #uspol #TrumpIsBatshitCrazy #TrumpDictatorship #auspol #IranWar #PutinsPuppet https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2026/aug/17/politics-trump-south-korea-military-pentagon-republicans-democrats?page=with%3Ablock-6a82d0db8f088792503ed7a9#block-6a82d0db8f088792503ed7a9