President Trump to scale back drills with South Korea

YEONCHEON, South Korea (NBC, KYMA) - President Donald Trump said Sunday that he has directed the Defense Department to scale down joint military exercises with South Korea,citing the U.S. ally's refusal to join the war in Iran and his very good relationship with North Korea's Kim Jong Un.

Hours before exercises were scheduled to begin, President Trump said on his Truth Social site that although it was too late to cancel the exercises entirely, he was not happy that the United States had previously agreed to participate.

Trump said the large, annual military drills sent a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile to North Korea, a nuclear armed state with which the U.S. has no formal diplomatic ties, which Trump says has been unthreatening and respectful as long as he has been president.

It was not immediately clear what a scaled-down version of the training would look like.

The South Korean Defense Ministry said Monday that the drills, known as Ulchi Freedom Shield, and scheduled to last until Aug. 27, were proceeding as planned.

The drills are expected to include operations to counter drones, disrupt GPS signals and cyberattacks to adapt to North Korea's evolving capabilities, officials said last week.

Trump's announcement comes days after North Korea launched a ballistic missile toward the sea, conducting weapons testing in possible protest of the upcoming U.S.-South Korea military drills.