U.S.-South Korea military drills cut short

(NBC, KYMA) - The South Korean and U.S. Militaries confirmed Wednesday they were significantly scaling back major joint drills days after President Donald Trump ordered the reduction in an apparent bid to reengage with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

President Trump had ordered his Pentagon chief to substantially reduce the allies' summertime Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises, just before they began Monday for an 11-day run.

Trump cited what he said was a good relationship with Kim and South Korea's refusal to support him over Iran.

South Korean officials said Trump's surprise announcement came without prior notice, baffling many people in the Asian country and raising concerns about joint defense readiness.

South Korea's military said Wednesday the allies agreed to adjust the duration and scale of the exercises at the request of the U.S.

It said the ongoing drills would end this Friday, not August 27 as initially planned. It added the allies also agreed to downsize some joint field training exercises.

The Pentagon said it was continuing training that enhances tactical capability but certain events have been canceled or converted to simulations.

Many experts say Trump's move threatens to hurt the combined U.S.-South Korean defense posture and eventually weaken their decades long alliance.

A reduction or suspension of military drills matters because military commanders change periodically.

A one year suspension of drills would mean commanders unfamiliar with the procedures of the drills would be taking part when they resume, according to Yang Uk, an analyst at Seoul's Asian Institute for Policy Studies.

Ulchi freedom shield is largely a computer simulated command post exercise meant to hone the allies' ability to deal with potential Morth Korean aggression.

The two countries usually hold a set of field training exercises during the command post exercise period.

The drills and a similar springtime exercise are a central pillar of the U.S.-South Korea alliance, which dates to the 1950-53 Korean War, bit's also a long-running source of tensions with North Korea, which has denounced the exercises as a rehearsal for an invasion and responded with provocative missile tests.

Days before this month's drills began, North Korea launched two ballistic missiles into the sea.