{"id":2647003,"date":"2026-08-19T13:58:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T17:58:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/south-korean-officials-not-notified-of-us-scaling-back-joint-exercises\/"},"modified":"2026-08-19T14:02:30","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T18:02:30","slug":"south-korean-officials-not-notified-of-us-scaling-back-joint-exercises","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/south-korean-officials-not-notified-of-us-scaling-back-joint-exercises\/","title":{"rendered":"South Korean officials \u2018not notified\u2019 of US scaling back joint exercises"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fsouth-korean-officials-not-notified-of-us-scaling-back-joint-exercises%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2647003&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>south Korean Foreign Minister Cho hyun stated that South Korea was unaware of President Donald Trump&#8217;s decision to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-orders-hegseth-to-substantially-reduce-joint-military-operations-with-south-korea\/\" title=\"... orders Hegseth to &#039;substantially reduce&#039; joint ... with ...\">reduce joint military exercises<\/a> with the United States prior to his public announcement on Truth Social. Trump explained that he instructed the U.S. Secretary of Defence to significantly cut back these exercises, citing the high costs and a perceived lack of reciprocal support from South Korea, despite the presence of 39,000 U.S. troops guarding the country from North Korea. this decision surprised South Korean officials and led to the shortening of planned military drills. Trump also emphasized his good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and described the military operations as costly. The move occurred just before the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises, which were later shortened. South Korea praised the pleasant relationship between Trump and Kim following the reduction in military activities. The White House has been contacted for further comment.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/south-korea\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"2221\">South Korean<\/a> Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said Wednesday that officials in his country were not aware of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"4\">Donald Trump\u2019s<\/a> decision to scale back joint <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/military\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"266\">military<\/a> operations between Washington, D.C., and Seoul before the U.S. president announced it on Truth Social.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNeither our government nor U.S. officials knew what President Trump wrote on his Truth Social,\u201d Cho <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/m-en.yna.co.kr\/view\/AEN20260819006400315\">said<\/a> during a meeting of South Korea\u2019s National Assembly Committee on Foreign Affairs and Unification.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4692942\/south-korea-not-notified-trump-scale-back-joint-military-exercises\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>South Korea says officials \u2018were not notified in advance\u2019 of Trump\u2019s scaling back of joint exercises<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4692672\/kim-jong-un-sister-completely-unaware-communications-trump\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Kim Jong Un\u2019s sister \u2018completely unaware\u2019 of communications between North Korea and Trump<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4692483\/ukraine-fired-defense-minister-mykhailo-fedorov-demands-new-elections\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Zelensky\u2019s fired defense minister mounts political challenge by demanding new elections<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cho said Trump\u2019s move to scale back the joint exercises caught the South Korean government by surprise, saying \u201cwe were not notified in advance,\u201d according to South Korea\u2019s<em> Yonhap News Agency<\/em>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Sunday evening, Trump <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4689217\/trump-hegseth-reduce-joint-military-operations-south-korea\/\">announced<\/a> that he told War Secretary Pete Hegseth to \u201csubstantially reduce\u201d joint military training exercises between the U.S. and South Korea. He <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4690075\/trump-gutted-south-korea-drills-lack-help-iran\/\">attributed the drawback<\/a> of military exercises to South Korea\u2019s<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4690075\/trump-gutted-south-korea-drills-lack-help-iran\/\"> lack of help <\/a>in the United States\u2019s war with Iran.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhen I called recently, the president of South Korea [Lee Jae Myung] \u2014 who I like, I think he\u2019s very nice actually \u2014 but I called him and said, \u2018Would you like to give us a little hand?\u2019 He said, \u2018No, thanks,&#8217;\u201d Trump <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4690075\/trump-gutted-south-korea-drills-lack-help-iran\/\">told reporters<\/a> on Monday. \u201cAnd I said, wait, we have 39,000 soldiers over there \u2014 guarding you from [North Korean leader] Kim Jong Un, your next-door neighbor \u2014 and you\u2019re not going to help us on a very easy military operation in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/iran\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"100\">Iran<\/a>? That\u2019s strange.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump\u2019s announcement came just one day before U.S. troops began an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-gutted-south-korea-military-drills-due-to-lack-of-help-against-iran\/\" title=\"... gutted ... military drills due to lack of help against Iran\">annual joint exercise<\/a> with South Korea called Ulchi Freedom Shield. The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usfk.mil\/What-We-Do\/Exercises\/Ulchi-Freedom-Shield\/\">mission<\/a> is aimed at bolstering South Korea\u2019s defenses against possible attacks from <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/north-korea\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"340\">North Korea<\/a>. South Korean officials announced that the 2026 mission, initially set to take place in 11 days, would be <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2026\/aug\/19\/us-south-korea-army-drills-cut-trump-push-kim-jong-un-talks\">shortened by six days<\/a> after Trump\u2019s announcement.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/defense\/4689329\/south-korea-friendly-relationship-trump-kim\/\">SOUTH KOREA PRAISES \u2018FRIENDLY RELATIONSHIP\u2019 BETWEEN TRUMP AND KIM JONG UN AFTER US SCALES BACK JOINT TRAINING<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In his Sunday announcement, Trump said he has a \u201cvery good relationship with <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/kim-jong-un\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"1029\">Kim Jong Un<\/a>\u201d and called the operations with South Korea \u201ccostly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> has reached out to the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/section\/news\/white-house\/\" data-type=\"category\" data-id=\"125\">White House<\/a> for comment.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>S. Korea unaware of Trump\u2019s military exercise reduction before announcement<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3976,"featured_media":2647004,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/AP25251210071522.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[37066,84392,34188,33489],"class_list":["post-2647003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-diplomatic-relations","tag-joint-exercises","tag-south-korea","tag-us-military"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/AP25251210071522.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2647003","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3976"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2647003"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2647003\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2647007,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2647003\/revisions\/2647007"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2647004"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2647003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2647003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2647003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}