South Korea shortens war games with US, citing Washington request

What the report says

South Korea says it will shorten its annual joint military exercise with the United States, after Washington asked for changes to the 2026 Ulchi Freedom Shield drill. According to Seoul’s defence ministry, the exercise will now finish on 21 August instead of 27 August, and the scale of the combined field-training portion will be reduced, though details are still being worked out.

BBC World News reported that the adjustment follows comments by US President Donald Trump, who said he wanted to curb joint drills with South Korea and linked that position to his relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun told lawmakers that officials in Seoul and Washington had not known about Trump’s plans beforehand.

The drills are a long-running part of allied readiness on the Korean peninsula, where about 28,500 US troops are stationed. BBC World News also noted that US and South Korean military leaders had said last week the exercise would be similar in size to previous years, with around 18,000 South Korean troops taking part. The latest change comes amid wider tensions involving North Korea, including its support for Russia’s war in Ukraine and Pyongyang’s repeated criticism of the exercises as hostile rehearsals.