Trump scales back South Korea drills, alarming US allies

Donald Trump ordered a scale-back of joint US-South Korea military exercises after Seoul stayed out of his Iran war. Former diplomats and security officials say the move weakens deterrence and rattles allies across Asia.

In Short

• Former diplomats warned allies may feel exposed by Washington's sudden signal
• Trump linked the move to Seoul's stance on his Iran war
• Critics said favouring Kim hurt deterrence and rewarded an adversary

US President Donald Trump's decision to scale back joint military exercises with South Korea has raised concerns among former diplomats and security officials in Washington, who say the move could weaken a close ally and send an unsettling message across Asia and beyond. Trump said he was acting because South Korea had refused to join his war against Iran and because of what he described as his good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Critics said the decision reflected the personal and transactional approach to foreign policy that has marked Trump's presidency. Dan Fried, a former assistant secretary of state in the George W Bush administration, said, "There is no American interest that I can see in this. On all levels it makes no sense. It undermines the South Koreans, undermines the Japanese, frightens the Taiwanese, unnerves NATO and emboldens the Chinese, not to mention the North Koreans."

Danny Russel, a former assistant secretary of state for East Asia and the Pacific in the Obama administration, said Trump's decision to side with North Korea, which strongly opposes the annual drills, was "firmly in the hard-to see-how-it-could-be-worse category". He added, "It is tragically upside-down. Trump is punishing an ally while encouraging an adversary. He is protecting Kim Jong Un's sensitive feelings from an unfriendly signal at the expense of US-South Korean security."

Trump on Sunday ordered the US military to downsize the 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises, which began on Monday as scheduled. It was not known which parts of the training were being scaled back. The announcement baffled many in South Korea, which has long been allied with the US and sees national security as a top priority because of threats from nuclear-armed North Korea. The move also drew immediate criticism from Democrats in Congress.

Representative Greg Meeks of New York, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement, "Treating one of America's closest allies like an adversary weakens our alliances and benefits China and North Korea." On Monday, Trump doubled down by posting a photo of Kim speaking on a phone with the caption: "HEY DONALD ... WE COOL, RIGHT?"

Retired US Ambassador Robert Wood, who served under Republican and Democratic presidents, said the joint exercises were critical to deterring North Korea, which has avoided talks with the US over its nuclear programme and stepped up weapons testing. "We also don't want South Korea to draw the conclusion that a nuclear weapons capability is the only guarantee it has to ensure its security," Wood said.

Matthew Kroenig, who previously held defence and intelligence roles in Republican and Democratic administrations, said opinion polls showed rising support in South Korea for pursuing its own nuclear weapons. "The United States has been working really hard to try to persuade South Korea that they are protected," said Kroenig, now with the Atlantic Council. Scaling back the exercises "potentially undermines that message", he said.

Trump's shift came even after South Korea had tried to flatter him while seeking support on trade and defence. During a meeting in the Oval Office last year, President Lee Jae Myung praised the room's decor, backed Trump's claim that Kim would not have pursued his nuclear ambitions had Trump won a second straight term in 2020, and raised the prospect of an eventual Trump Tower in North Korea. Only hours earlier, Trump had appeared to show sympathy for Lee's predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol, who was removed from office after imposing martial law in December 2024.

Charles Kupchan, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations who served on the National Security Council under Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, said the move could push allies to think more seriously about their own security without US help. "They are hoping that the American umbrella is there for the future," Kupchan said, "but they have to at least contemplate the idea that Uncle Sam won't be there for them."

Kupchan said Trump was not wrong to want South Korea and European allies to spend more on defence, but said his unpredictable style cut into alliance solidarity "because he ends up insulting allies". Fried said Trump seemed unable to "take a win" after pushing NATO members and Asian allies to raise defence spending. "NATO is building up, South Korea is building up, Japan is building up. Trump has a problem with taking the win," Fried said. "It's like he wants to burn it all down."

John Herbst, a former US ambassador to Ukraine under George W Bush, said the Korea decision showed how inconsistent the Trump administration could be in its policy statements, though the US had generally maintained its long-term alliances. "If these things grow in frequency and in importance, obviously we will be in the process of taking apart the alliance system, which has served us so well since the end of World War II," Herbst said. "But despite some statements which seem to head in that direction, we have not headed there in a consistent, strong way." Kupchan agreed, saying that while Trump's language could be read as "we're done with you," "the reality is that, at least as of today, Trump has left intact America's forward bases and its core alliance relationships."

For now, it remains unclear whether Trump's message to South Korea will lead to a lasting policy shift or fade as another social media intervention. "He's an unpredictable president," Kroenig said. "If we move on and the exercises go as planned and we never hear anything about this again, I wouldn't be surprised."

With PTI Inputs

- Ends