Key facts
- President Trump decided to substantially reduce joint military exercises with South Korea.
- The decision has caused unease among Asian allies.
- South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called for stronger independent defence capabilities.
- Lee stated civil-defence exercises are defensive and not aimed at North Korea.
President Donald Trump has instructed the Pentagon to substantially reduce joint military exercises with South Korea, a move that has unsettled regional allies who view it as strategically unsound and potentially destabilizing. The reduction in drills, a key component of deterrence against North Korea, has raised concerns about the commitment to regional security and the implications for alliances in Asia.
In response, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called for stronger independent defence capabilities, stating that annual civil-defence exercises, held alongside the joint U.S.-South Korea military drills, were defensive in character and not intended to threaten North Korea. Lee emphasized that Seoul should proceed without disruption with the planned transfer of wartime operational control from the United States during his term. He described the U.S.-South Korea alliance and independent defence as mutually reinforcing, and called for faster progress on South Korea's nuclear-powered submarine program.