Trump calls Kim Jong Un after pulling out of joint military drills with South Korea
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. US President Donald Trump pulled out of joint military exercises with South Korea, a day after re-establishing contact with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. He said Kim had responded to his latest attempts at contact and that the communication between the two leaders was “positive”.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said the relationship with Kim, whom he met three times in his first term, has made the situation on the Korean Peninsula “much safer”.TAG_OPEN_div_66 Since the start of the second term, they have not met in person.
“How do you know he hasn’t responded?” he told reporters when asked if he had received a response to a request for talks with Kim after he took office last year.TAG_OPEN_div_64 Asked if Kim had actually answered, he said, “Yes, he did.”
Asked about the stage of the talks with Kim, Trump said the talks were “very positive”.TAG_OPEN_div_62 He did not provide further details about the means of contact or possible talks.
Trump praised Kim, saying the relationship between the two leaders had helped ease tensions.TAG_OPEN_div_60 “I’m actually making it a lot safer. Kim Jong-un has always treated me with great respect. I understand him and he understands me,” he said.
Earlier on TAG_OPEN_div_58 Sunday night, President Trump announced on his TruthSocial account that he had ordered the Pentagon to withdraw the joint military exercises with South Korea. He called the drills “inappropriate and hostile” and linked South Korea’s refusal to cooperate in the US-Israel war against Iran.
Noting that there are about TAG_OPEN_div_56 39,000 US troops in South Korea, Trump said it was “astonishing” that the US could not help the United States in Iran while protecting South Korea from North Korea. He also questioned U.S. support for South Korea and other NATO allies that have not cooperated in military action against Iran.
TAG_OPEN_div_54″We can’t just go around and defend all these countries, especially when they’re not there to help us,” Trump said.
South Korean officials said the drills began as scheduled and were coordinating with Washington.TAG_OPEN_div_52 President Lee Jae-myung’s office said on Tuesday that the purpose of the drills was not to attack North Korea or escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
Lee said the main purpose of the drills was not to treat any particular party as an enemy, but to ensure the safe and peaceful daily life of the South Korean people, his office said.TAG_OPEN_div_50
North Korea has not publicly commented on the latest drills.TAG_OPEN_div_48 However, Pyongyang has long criticized regular joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States as a preparatory for an attack against it.
The eleven-day Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise was held to test the joint readiness and capability of the US and South Korean militaries for a possible war with North Korea.TAG_OPEN_div_46 Col. Ryan Donald, a spokesman for the U.S.-South Korea Joint Command, said the drills would also include scenarios for a possible confrontation with North Korean forces that are supporting Russia in the war against Ukraine.
Seoul’s presidential office said it was “coordinating” with Washington during the exercises.TAG_OPEN_div_44
The U.S. has deployed about 28,TAG_OPEN_div_42 500 troops to protect South Korea. The U.S. military presence in South Korea has continued since the Korean War, which lasted from 1950 to 1953, ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.
But Trump’s repeated criticism of traditional U.S. allies and allies has once again called into question America’s security commitments in East Asia.TAG_OPEN_div_40 The military drills and a possible change in the U.S. military presence could raise security concerns not only in South Korea but also in its allies in the region, including Japan.
The USS George Washington, one of the U.S. aircraft carriers operating in the Pacific, has been redeployed to the Middle East to relieve the long-serving USS Abraham Lincoln.TAG_OPEN_div_38 Concerns have also been raised about mental health and supply chain issues aboard the USS Lincoln.
Jack Reed, the Senate’s top Democrat on military affairs and a member of the Armed Services Committee, criticized Trump’s order to reduce the drills, saying China and Russia were watching to see how easily the president could abandon his allies.TAG_OPEN_div_36 He called the decision “stupid and disorganized”.
Meanwhile, Trump’s gesture that he has re-established contact with Kim could open a new avenue for a possible summit between Washington and Pyongyang.TAG_OPEN_div_34 However, it is not clear whether the talks between the two countries will reach the level of immediate talks as Kim has not made a public statement.
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