The U.S. Department of Defense officially announced on the 18th local time that, following instructions from President Donald Trump, it has significantly scaled down the joint South Korea-U.S. military exercise, Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS), including shortening its duration.

In a statement released that day, the U.S. DoD stated, "In accordance with the directives of President Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, the Department of Defense is continuing training to strengthen tactical capabilities while significantly scaling down Ulchi Freedom Shield."

The U.S. DoD explained that due to these reduction measures, this year's exercise will end on the 21st, a week earlier than originally scheduled.

The U.S. DoD noted, "Related maneuver training has been scaled down, and some exercises have been canceled or shifted to simulations."

However, despite these adjustments, it emphasized that "essential defense posture and training objectives will be maintained," adding that "there will be no setbacks to the U.S. military's training objectives."

This measure follows President Trump's directive to Secretary Hegseth on the 16th to "significantly scale down" the joint South Korea-U.S. exercises.

The UFS exercise is a regular joint drill for the defense of the Korean Peninsula in the event of contingencies, which was originally scheduled to run from the 17th through the 27th.

That same day, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff also issued a press release simultaneously announcing that, upon the U.S. proposal, they have decided to partially adjust the duration and scale of the exercise.
 
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)