Trump Orders Pentagon to Curtail Military Exercises With Ally South Korea

But North Korea’s Foreign Ministry on Friday had reiterated its condemnation of the drills, branding them “a rehearsal for an aggressive war.” In response, the country conducted two ballistic missile tests off its east coast this month, vowing to “respond to a new level of a threat with a new level of a deterrent.”

It was unclear just how the Pentagon would scale back its role in the joint military exercises.

The exercises are held most summers with South Korea’s armed forces and with other U.S. allies in the Asia-Pacific region. They focus on how the allied militaries can counter a wide range of security threats, including drones and cyberattacks, while also strengthening combined defenses. They are designed to help U.S. allies defend against threats from North Korea.

The Pentagon was taken aback by Mr. Trump’s sudden announcement, according to a senior U.S. military official. Just last week, an official with U.S. and South Korean Combined Forces Command told reporters that the exercises would simulate combat against North Korean troops, who have gained crucial experience while fighting for Russia in its war against Ukraine.

Col. Ryan Donald, director of ​public affairs for the Combined Forces Command, United Nations Command and U.S. Forces Korea, said in a news conference with the South Korean military last Monday that ​the exercises reflected the changing character of war, including the growing use of unmanned systems, electronic warfare and cyberoperations.

“DPRK soldiers have deployed and fought in Ukraine, and they’ve taken those lessons they’ve learned ​there and brought them back to North Korea,” he said at a news conference in South Korea. He was referring to North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

“That changes the DPRK capability, and our training accounts for ⁠that threat,” he said.

The exercises are supposed to include 18,000 South Korean troops, as well as a number of U.S. troops who are already part of the 28,500 American service members stationed in South Korea.

Choe Sang-Hun contributed reporting from Seoul.