Trump wants to be friends with Kim - but South Korea could pay the price
President Trump's decision to abruptly scale back military exercises with South Korea has raised concerns about the stability of the US-South Korea alliance. The move, intended to facilitate diplomacy with North Korea, has left regional allies feeling blindsided and uncertain about future US security commitments.
Why it matters
This shift in military policy signals a potential realignment of US foreign policy in East Asia, impacting the security architecture of the Pacific region.
Image source, Reuters Image caption, Trump and Kim met at Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in 2019
South Korea's annual military exercises with the US come to an abrupt end on Friday.
Ulchi Freedom Shield, which involves 18,000 South Korean troops and 11 other American ally nations, is being halted with only half of the scheduled programme complete - days after US President Donald Trump announced he had ordered the Pentagon to "substantially reduce" the drill.
This revelation by Trump, who called the exercise "inappropriate and hostile" towards North Korea and costly to the US, caught his allies by surprise.
Seoul's Foreign Minister Cho Hyun tried to paint the decision as one of mutual agreement, but admitted officials did not know of Trump's intent to scale down the exercise in advance.
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