Trump Cuts South Korea Drills on Cost Grounds, Breaking From First-Term Diplomatic Rationale

During his first term, Trump scaled back U.S.-South Korea drills to facilitate diplomacy with North Korea. His August 16 directive reducing the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise cites cost and burden-sharing instead — a shift from diplomatic to transactional logic. Seoul, caught off guard, called for stronger self-defense. The 2025 National Security Strategy reinforces conditioning U.S. engagement on allied spending increases.