Cheong Wa Dae: South Korea and US Have Closely Coordinated Joint Drills and Will Continue to Cooperate on Specifics

Cheong Wa Dae stated on August 17 that South Korea and the United States have closely coordinated on maintaining a firm combined defense posture and conducting joint exercises and drills, adding that they will continue to cooperate on specific details moving forward.

The official from Cheong Wa Dae made the remarks regarding U.S. President Donald Trump's social media announcement that he has instructed U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to significantly scale down the size of the South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises.

Regarding President Trump mentioning his good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as the background for the instruction, the official explained that the government is paying attention to President Trump's social media message today.

The official further added that the government hopes the friendly relationship between the leaders of North Korea and the U.S. will lead to meaningful dialogue between the two sides, initiating discussions to advance peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, and that it will exert necessary diplomatic efforts as a pacemaker under close South Korea-U.S. coordination for this purpose.

In addition, regarding the Middle East conflict, the official stated that the government has actively participated in international community discussions aimed at achieving a ceasefire in Iran and restoring free navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, and is closely discussing practical and military contribution measures with the U.S. side while taking into account various factors such as readiness posture on the Korean Peninsula and domestic legal procedures.

This was an explanation regarding President Trump's claim that he had asked South Korea if it was willing to join efforts for the denuclearization of Iran, but was told that South Korea would decline.

Earlier, in a post on Truth Social on August 16 local time, President Trump stated that considering the very good relationship he shares with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, he does not like the fact that the U.S. agreed long ago to participate in joint military exercises with South Korea, and that, given it is now too late to cancel them, he has instructed Secretary Hegseth to significantly scale down the size of the joint drills.

He also remarked that the South Korea-U.S. joint drills are costly and send a completely inappropriate and hostile signal to North Korea.

He further mentioned, as a somewhat unrelated point, that he had asked South Korean President Lee Jae-myung if he was willing to join efforts for the denuclearization of Iran, but conveyed that they declined.

While the possibility has been raised that President Trump's social media remarks may have had the South Korea-U.S. joint exercise Ulchi Freedom Shield in mind, the military authorities maintain the position that the joint exercise is currently being conducted normally and that no request for a scale adjustment has been made.

Following the outbreak of the war between the U.S. and Iran, there has also been no public disclosure of any specific demands made by the U.S. to South Korea regarding denuclearization.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.