The Pentagon earlier scaled back joint military drills with South Korea after the US president called them “hostile” to Pyongyang
US President Donald Trump has said he expects to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un later this year, days after ordering joint military drills with South Korea scaled back over what he called their ‘hostile’ signal to Pyongyang.
During his first presidency, Trump and Kim sought to improve relations between the two countries, meeting three times, including at the Demilitarized Zone in 2019. The diplomatic thaw eventually stalled without a deal on North Korea’s nuclear program.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Trump said he knows Kim Jong-un “very well” and the two “get along.”
“The fact that I get along with him – that’s a good thing,” the US president said, adding that North Korea possesses “57 very powerful nuclear weapons.”
Asked whether he planned to meet with Kim later this year, Trump replied: “Yeah, I will be.”
Also on Wednesday, NBC News quoted a White House official as saying Trump was open to meeting Kim at the “appropriate time,” although no date has been set.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s National Defense Ministry said that the annual joint military drills with the US, codenamed Ulchi Freedom Shield, were being cut short at Washington’s request.
A US Department of War official said the drills, which began on Monday, would end on August 21 rather than August 27, with some live-training events canceled or converted to simulations.
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun told parliament on Wednesday that the Trump administration had not notified Seoul of the move in advance.
North Korea has denounced the joint US-South Korean drills and vowed to respond with a “new level of deterrent.” Kim’s sister, Kim Yo-jong, a high-ranking official in the Workers’ Party, said on Wednesday that the reduction in the scale and duration of the drills did not change their “hostile and confrontational nature.” She described the personal relationship between Trump and her brother as “excellent.” However, she denied that there is any communication between the two leaders, according to AP.
The drills were scaled back after Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday that he was “not happy” that the US had agreed to participate. He said the drills were costly and “send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile” to North Korea. “It is too late to cancel,” Trump wrote, adding that he had instructed Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to “substantially reduce” the exercises.
Trump pointed out that South Korea has refused to back the US in its military campaign against Iran.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, he said he “was not happy when South Korea said – no, they are not interested in helping us with the Hormuz Strait.”
