South Korea and US Cut Ulchi Freedom Shield Exercise From 11 Days to Five
The Facts
- South Korea and the United States shortened their annual Ulchi Freedom Shield military exercise from 11 days to five.
- Ulchi Freedom Shield, which began Aug. 17, will now end Aug. 21 instead of the originally scheduled Aug. 27.
- South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the adjustment to the exercise's duration and scale was made at the U.S. side's proposal.
- The allies will also partially reduce the combined field training exercises held alongside the command-post drills.
- The two militaries have not yet settled the details of the field training reductions and are still in discussions.
- Trump said in a social media post Sunday that he had ordered joint military exercises with South Korea "substantially" reduced.
- Trump cited the cost of the exercises, much of which he said the United States pays, as a reason for cutting them back.
- A Pentagon official confirmed the U.S. military was substantially reducing joint exercises with South Korea.
Context
What is Ulchi Freedom Shield?
It is one of the two largest annual exercises conducted by the United States and South Korea, combining computer-simulated command post training with live field maneuvers TASS,North Korea News. South Korea had planned to involve 18,000 personnel in this year's drills TASS.
How does North Korea view the drills?
Pyongyang has long denounced the annual exercises as a rehearsal for invasion, while Seoul and Washington maintain they are defensive in nature Yonhap News Agency,Korea Times. Yonhap reported Trump ordered the reduction of drills that North Korea could see as "hostile," and Trump linked his decision to his relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un Yonhap News Agency,Stars and Stripes.
What remains unresolved?
The scope of the field training cutbacks is still being negotiated between the two militaries Inquirer,Azeri - Press Infor…. South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back said the allies were moving to cancel the exercise's second phase Azertag News-Agency,KBS WORLD Radio, and The Korea Times reported the allies still plan 159 field drills this year despite the shortened UFS Korea Times.
Where Left and Right agree, and where they split
- Where Left and Right agree
- Cost was the stated reason the drills were halved at Washington's proposal, and both reads treat the still-unsettled field training cuts as the consequential open question.
- Where Left and Right split
- Whether the story is about readiness on the peninsula being traded away over a line item, or about whether Americans who never voted on the bill keep paying it.
How left and right read it
Readiness on the Korean Peninsula is a shared public good, and it should not be traded away over a line item. Yet Ulchi Freedom Shield went from eleven days to five at the U.S. side's proposal, after Trump said he had ordered the drills "substantially" reduced because of what they cost. The field training cuts remain unsettled. Who carries that risk while the details get worked out?
Every dollar spent abroad is a dollar taken from Americans who never voted on the bill, so cost is not a distraction from the defense debate — it is the debate. That is why the president's stated reason for ordering these exercises substantially reduced matters: he pointed to the expense, much of which he said the United States pays. With the field training cuts still under discussion, that same standard should govern what remains.
The receipts — all 36 sources
Wire services (6)
Independent coverage (30)
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