US, South Korea slash joint military drills by half as Trump eyes Kim summit

The South Korean and US militaries have agreed to shorten their drills at the US’ request, South Korean officials said on Wednesday, days after President Donald Trump ordered cuts to the exercises.The allies’ summertime Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises began Monday morning for an 11-day run, just after Trump ordered his Pentagon chief to “substantially reduce” them, citing what he said was a good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korea’s refusal to join the US war against Iran.South Korea’s military said in a statement the ongoing drills with the US would end on Friday, not August 27 as initially planned. It said the allies also agreed to downsize some joint field training exercises.The allies will complete the first, defensive phase of the exercise this week and cancel the second phase involving counter-attack operations, according to local media.US Forces Korea commander General Xavier Brunson leaves the Defence Ministry in Seoul after discussing cutbacks to the Ulchi exercise on Tuesday. Photo: Yonhap/APUlchi is largely a computer-simulated command post exercise meant to hone the allies’ ability to deal with potential regional security threats like North Korean aggression. The two countries usually hold field training exercises during the command post exercise period.