Trump also argues with South Korea, guilty of not wanting to help the US against Iran. There are several ongoing controversies
Even what, on paper, would be the most powerful and organized army in the world cannot afford too many open hot fronts. On Sunday, August 16, the President of the United States Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon to substantially reduce joint military exercises with South Korea, a historically allied Asian nation, citing as reasons the costs to be incurred for carrying out the maneuvers, but above all Seoul’s refusal to participate in actions against Iran.
A few hours before the start of the “Ulchi Freedom Shield” joint military exercises, which were supposed to involve 18,000 South Korean soldiers and end on August 27, Tycoon declared on his Truth Social website that he was “not happy” that the United States had agreed to participate, and underlined his excellent relationship with Kim Jong Unleader of North Korea, a nuclear and heavily sanctioned power, who would certainly have reacted with as many military maneuvers, as has happened regularly and for years in that part of Asia and always in the second part of August.
Trump’s words and South Korea’s reaction
The words of Trump were: «These exercises are not only expensive, they send a totally inappropriate and hostile signal to a country which, since this Administration has been in existence, has always shown itself to be non-threatening and respectful».
However, Seoul did not give up taking action at all, so the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed the exercises, which began on Monday the 17th, as scheduled. The South Korean presidency also stated that it had placed Trump’s post under review, and that it hoped that friendly relations between the leaders of the United States and North Korea would lead to a constructive dialogue between the two countries, opening discussions “aimed at promoting peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.”
There is also no doubt that the two allies will continue to coordinate on their joint defense strategy and on the military exercises to be implemented, but in response to the statement of Trump according to which the president Lee Jae Myung would refuse to join U.S. efforts to denuclearize Iran, Seoul said it was evaluating potential military contributions, taking into account its own defense readiness on the Korean Peninsula and domestic legal procedures.
The precedents between Trump and the two Koreas
What is happening is nothing new, in fact Trump has long tried to reduce military exercises with South Korea, clashing with Seoul over the sharing of costs for maintaining 28,500 US soldiers present in the country, and their role in the security of the entire region. North Korea, still technically at war with the South, regularly denounces joint Western exercises as preparations for an invasion, and last week Pyongyang launched yet another ballistic missile from its east coast into the Sea of Japan, just days after a similar launch of a short-range ballistic missile.
The relationships between Trump And Kim they have been up and down for years; the American mocked the North Korean leader, calling him “little rocket man” and threatened Pyongyang with an attack, while Kim he boasted that he could tame the “old American dotard with fire.” Yet the two attended three summits, even though none of the diplomatic initiatives led to changes in North Korea’s development of nuclear weapons or ballistic missiles. It is currently unclear how the exercises could be scaled back, but recent years have seen a progressive shift from live-fire exercises to computer-based simulations of missile and cyber attacks.
The moves of the White House
On a tactical level, certainly Trump may seek to exert greater influence over North Korea, given Pyongyang’s strong commitment to supporting Russia in Ukraine, so Trump could converse with Kim to remove him from Russia. After the help that Pyongyang sent to Putin On the Ukrainian front, North Korean troops have gained experience, while Ukraine said last week that North Korean-made missiles were used in a Russian ballistic missile attack on a steel plant in Zaporizhzhia. On the economic level, the Seoul government has repeatedly pursued policies antagonistic to American companies, and has shown little interest in following up on the historic investment agreement with the United States.
The two countries signed a trade deal last year to reduce auto tariffs imposed by Trumpin exchange for Seoul’s commitment to invest $350 billion, but the South Koreans have not yet announced the details of their plan. Furthermore, Washington is at odds with the Asian country on the matter of the US e-commerce company Coupang, which is the subject of an investigation by Seoul for a massive data leak that would have damaged the interests but also the security of the States.
