Presidential Office: S. Korea, U.S. Have Closely Coordinated on Combined Exercises

The presidential office stated, "South Korea and the United States have closely coordinated on maintaining a firm combined defense posture and conducting combined exercises and training," adding, "We will continue to cooperate on specific matters moving forward."

The presidential office made this remark in response to U.S. President Donald Trump posting on social media that he had instructed U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to drastically scale down the scope of South Korea-U.S. joint military drills.

Regarding President Trump mentioning his "good relationship" with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as the background for this instruction, an official from the presidential office explained, "The government is taking note of President Trump's SNS message today."

The official added, "We hope that an amicable relationship between the leaders of North Korea and the U.S. will lead to meaningful dialogue, initiating discussions to advance peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula," and noted, "To this end, we will make necessary diplomatic efforts as a pacemaker under close bilateral coordination."

Regarding the war involving Iran, the office stated, "The government has actively participated in international discussions for a ceasefire in Iran and the restoration of freedom of navigation in the Strait of Malacca, and is closely discussing practical and military contribution measures with the U.S., 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 Iran's denuclearization, only to receive a "No thanks!" response.

Given that President Trump released a brief, unilateral SNS message without explaining specific details or context, it is interpreted as an effort to maintain a cautious stance while prioritizing the principle that South Korea-U.S. coordination and the commitment to peace must remain unshaken.

It is also analyzed as an expression of the will to keep the "spark of dialogue alive," highlighting that President Trump mentioned his friendly relationship with leader Kim right after President Lee Jae-myung proposed multilateral discussions for ending the war.

However, since parts of President Trump's remarks mentioning costs related to South Korea-U.S. exercises and Iran's denuclearization can be read as expressing dissatisfaction with South Korea, the government is expected to stay highly attentive to verifying President Trump's true intentions through various channels.

Earlier on the 16th (local time), President Trump wrote on Truth Social, "Given the very good relationship I have with North Korean Chairman Kim Jong Un, I do not like the fact that the United States has long agreed to participate in joint military exercises with South Korea," adding, "Accordingly, considering it is too late to cancel them now, I have instructed Secretary Hegseth to drastically reduce the scale of the combined drills."

He also referred to the South Korea-U.S. combined exercises as "very costly" and "completely inappropriate and hostile signals" to North Korea.

He further stated, "Somewhat unrelatedly, I asked the (South Korean) President if they would be willing to join us in efforts regarding the denuclearization of Iran, and they said 'No thanks!'"

While the possibility has been raised that President Trump's social media remarks had the Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) joint exercises in mind, the military authorities maintain that the UFS exercises are currently being conducted normally and that no request for a scale adjustment has been made.

Nor has it been publicly disclosed that the U.S. has made specific demands of South Korea regarding denuclearization since the outbreak of the war between the U.S. and Iran.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.