Published: · Region: East Asia · Category: geopolitics

Trump Move to Curb US–South Korea Drills Tests Deterrence on the Korean Peninsula

US President Donald Trump has ordered limits on joint military exercises with South Korea, saying large drills are too costly and send the “wrong signal” given his “very good relationship” with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. The shift raises fresh questions for Seoul and Tokyo over the credibility of US extended deterrence as Pyongyang accelerates missile and nuclear development.

US President Donald Trump’s decision to rein in major joint military exercises with South Korea is reshaping one of the key visible pillars of deterrence on the Korean Peninsula, in favor of a gamble on personal rapport with Kim Jong Un. In comments made public on 16 August, Trump said that “based on my very good relationship with Kim Jong Un, of North Korea, I am not happy with the fact that the United States has, long ago, agreed to participate in Joint Military Exercises with South Korea.” He criticized the drills as expensive, with much of the cost “paid for by the United States of America (as usual!),” and…

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