Trump Ties South Korea Military Drill Cuts to Seoul's Refusal to Join Iran Denuclearization

Trump announced on August 16, 2026, that the US will substantially reduce joint military exercises with South Korea, calling the drills "costly" and "totally inappropriate and hostile." He tied the move to Seoul's refusal to join the US in denuclearizing Iran — linking a Peninsula-specific military decision to an unrelated policy dispute, a conditionality absent from the 2018–2019 drill reductions.