South Korea hopes for talks between US and North Korea after Trump downsizes military drills
- South Korea said it hopes the United States and North Korea will resume diplomacy after President Donald Trump ordered a reduction in joint military exercises with South Korea.
- Trump said he cut the drills because they are costly and send what he called a hostile signal to North Korea, and he said Kim Jong Un has treated him with great respect.
- The annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises began on Monday as scheduled, but it was not immediately clear which parts of the training would be scaled back.
- South Korea’s presidential office said it hopes the friendly relationship between Trump and Kim can lead to meaningful dialogue and said it will make diplomatic efforts to support that.
- Experts cited in the report said Kim is unlikely to return to talks unless he is assured of serious U.S. concessions.
South Korea said Monday that it hopes the United States and North Korea can resume talks, after President Donald Trump ordered a reduction in annual joint military exercises with South Korea. The exercises are a recurring source of tension because North Korea sees them as rehearsal for invasion.
Trump said in a social media post that the drills are costly and send a hostile message to North Korea. He also said Kim Jong Un has treated him with “great respect” and instructed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to “substantially reduce” the exercises.
The annual Ulchi Freedom Shield drills began Monday as planned, though it was not immediately known which parts would be scaled back. South Korea’s presidential office said it hopes the relationship between Trump and Kim will lead to meaningful dialogue, while experts said North Korea is unlikely to return to negotiations without assurances of serious U.S. concessions.
特朗普缩减美韩军演后，韩国希望美朝重启对话
韩国周一表示，希望美国与朝鲜能够恢复对话。此前，美国总统特朗普下令缩减与韩国每年的联合军事演习。朝鲜长期将这类演习视为入侵演练，因此相关行动经常引发紧张。
特朗普在社交媒体上表示，这些军演成本高，而且向朝鲜释放了他所说的敌对信号。他还说，金正恩对他“非常尊重”，并要求国防部长赫格塞思“大幅缩减”演习规模。
年度“乙支自由之盾”演习按计划于周一开始，但当时并不清楚哪些训练内容会被削减。韩国总统府表示，希望特朗普与金正恩之间的关系能够带来有意义的对话；报道中引用的专家则认为，除非朝鲜得到美国会作出重大让步的保证，否则金正恩不太可能重返谈判。