US-South Korea joint military exercises scaled back
One page that accretes the verified record as the story develops. Every fact keeps its date and its sources.
Trump's Korean gambit and shifting East Asian order
Wang Yi made no reference to denuclearisation and did not endorse Seoul's multiparty peace initiative during his visit to Seoul.
Japan's Prime Minister is Sanae Takaichi.
Japan says broader defence-related spending has reached its benchmark of 2 percent of gross domestic product ahead of schedule.
Trump redefining US-South Korea ties from military to economic
North Korea launched more than 10 short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea Thursday.
Trump canceled the annual military exercises in 2018 after his historic meeting with Kim Jong Un in Singapore.
SK Hynix is building a $4 billion advanced packaging plant in Indiana.
“The terms of exchange might change, but a smaller military footprint and narrower set of commitments in Asia would also free U.S. economic resources for investment at home and abroad,”
U.S. and South Korea Conclude Military Drills Early After North Korean Missile Tests
Kim Yo Jong denied Donald Trump's assertion that Kim Jong Un had responded to a request for a conversation.
U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon to substantially reduce the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise before it began.
North Korea fired approximately 10 short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea.
“Yeah, I will be.”
North Korea fires ballistic missiles as US-South Korea drills near end
“The ballistic missile launch is a grave act that violates UN Security Council resolutions,”
Alarm in South Korea as Iran dispute with Trump shakes 72-year alliance
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called for strengthening South Korea's self-reliant defense capabilities.
The joint military exercise was cut from 11 days to five, with the scope of several field training drills scaled back.
Opposition People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok accused President Lee of causing a diplomatic disaster and dismantling the South Korea-US alliance.
“We have 39,000 soldiers over there, guarding you from Kim Jong Un, your next-door neighbour, and you’re not going to help us on a very easy military operation in Iran? That’s strange.”
Trump-Kim friendship and implications for South Korea
“I believe [your social media post] was a bold decision that is the result of your deep consideration to achieve peace,”
US and South Korea scale back joint military exercises
US and South Korean military leaders announced Ulchi Freedom Shield at a joint press conference the previous week, saying it would be similar in scale to previous years with about 18,000 South Korean soldiers participating.
US military spokesperson Ryan Donald said "our training accounts for that threat", referring to North Korean soldiers returning from the battlefield in Ukraine.
Kim Yo-jong said her brother had "good memories and view of Trump" but stressed the US had not shifted its "hostile policy" against North Korea.
“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 says US-South Korea exercises are 'insulting' to North Korea's Kim
President Donald Trump said that joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises are an insult to North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un.
Trump met with Kim three times during his first term, including two summits.
The most recent North Korean missile launch was detected by South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff and Japan's Defense Ministry.
“The provocative, aggressive nature of the drills won’t change even though their duration and size were reduced.”
US-South Korea military drills shortened after Trump orders reduction
“Yeah, I will be.”
South Korea expresses hope for US-North Korea talks after drills downsized
Trump instructed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to "substantially reduce" the U.S.-South Korea military exercises
Trump said in a social media post that the exercises are costly and send a signal that is inappropriate and hostile to North Korea, which he said had been unthreatening and respectful during his time in the White House
In September 2025, Kim suggested he could resume talks with the U.S. president if Washington drops "its delusional obsession with denuclearization" of North Korea
“send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile”
Trump orders Pentagon to scale back joint exercises with South Korea
North Korea remains technically at war with South Korea, as the Korean War ended in 1953 with an armistice rather than a peace treaty.
Lee's office said South Korea had actively participated in international talks aimed at a ceasefire in Iran and restoring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
Lee's office said it hopes the friendly relationship between the U.S. and North Korean leaders will lead to meaningful U.S.-North Korea dialogue.
“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!’”