U.S. President Donald Trump gives a thumbs up as he walks to board Air Force One en route to Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, New Jersey, U.S., August 16, 2026. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno
President Donald Trump appeared to bow to a dictator's demands in a stunning move on Sunday.
In a pithy Truth Social post, Trump said he directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to scale back joint military exercises between the U.S. and South Korea. The two countries have been conducting military exercises together since the 1950s in an effort to deter future aggression by North Korea, a country that Trump claims to have a "very good" relationship with.
"Based on my very good relationship with Kim Jong Un, of North Korea, I am not happy with the fact that the United States has, long ago, agreed to participate in Joint Military Exercises with South Korea," Trump wrote on social media. "These exercises are not only costly, with much of these costs paid for by the United States of America (as usual!), but 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's announcement came after North Korea bashed the exercises on Friday, which Kim Jong Un's regime described as "a rehearsal for an aggressive war," the AP reported.
It also came at a time when Kim Jong Un has sought to bolster his nuclear arsenal, and has sent troops to fight on behalf of U.S. enemies like Russia in the country's war of aggression against Ukraine.
NORTHCOM Deputy Commander Lt. Gen. Joseph Jarrard also issued a warning about North Korea's military capabilities on Sunday that seem to collide with Trump's decision.
“North Koreans have successfully flight-tested ICBMs with enough boost to deliver a nuclear payload anywhere in North America," Jarrard said.
Kim Jong Un's threats seemed to have landed close to home for Trump, who called on Hegseth to reduce the exercises.
Therefore, and based on the fact that it is too late to cancel, I have instructed Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to substantially reduce the Joint Military Exercises!" Trump wrote.
He also unveiled a quizzical explanation for the move, tying it to his disastrous war against Iran.
"While somewhat unrelated (?), I recently asked the President of South Korea if they would like to join us in the Denuclearization of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and they said, 'No thanks!'" Trump claimed.