Trump Orders Cuts to South Korea Drills, Echoing 2018 Pattern as North Korea Accelerates Missile Tests

On August 16, 2026, President Trump instructed the Pentagon to reduce joint U.S.–South Korea military exercises, calling the 11-day drills "costly" and "inappropriate." The move mirrors his June 2018 suspension of major annual exercises—done without securing North Korean concessions—but now coincides with Pyongyang's accelerated missile testing and Kim Jong Un's calls for rapid nuclear buildup.