Joint US military exercises with South Korea will be downscaled, Donald Trump says, as they are "hostile" and too expensive.
The president has asked defence secretary Pete Hegseth to "substantially reduce" the exercises because the long-standing arrangement sends the wrong signal to North Korea.
Mr Trump said it was based on him having a "very good relationship" with North Korea's Kim Jong Un.
Writing on Truth Social, he said the exercises were costly and "totally inappropriate and hostile" as North Korea had been "unthreatening and respectful" while he's been president.
The US and South Korea have joint drills scheduled from 17-27 August, which will also involve high-tech exercises to counter drones, GPS disruption, and cyberattacks.
The annual exercise, Ulchi Freedom Shield, is held with the aim of rehearsing an attack by the North - with Pyongyang routinely condemning the event.
This year the foreign ministry called it "a rehearsal for an aggressive war" and said the drills would be of a "more serious provocative nature... than last year", according to state-run media.
Possibly hinting at more missile tests in response, a statement added: "It is our consistent principle of ensuring security to respond to a new level of a threat with a new level of a deterrent".
Neighbouring countries detected two ballistic missile launches this week, but North Korea hasn't commented on them.
President Trump said on Sunday that it was too late to cancel this year's operation - which Seoul military chiefs say will involve 18,000 South Korean troops.
Mr Trump made headlines when he met Kim Jong Un in person three times during his first term, but the pair haven't met during his second stint in power.
The North Korean leader has ignored offers to resume diplomacy and instead focused on bolstering the country's military capabilities. He's also forged closer ties with Russia in recent years, supplying troops and ammunition for the Ukraine war.
Separately on Sunday, South Korea's military said it had fired warning shots when North Korean soldiers violated the heavily militarised demarcation line between the countries last week, prompting them to return.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency said it was the first reported violation of the line this year.
(c) Sky News 2026: Trump downscales 'hostile' military drills with South Korea citing 'very good relatio
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