Foreign Minister: "South Korea-U.S. Alliance Is Strong... Exercise Period Reduced in Close Consultation with U.S."

Regarding Trump's Remarks: "No Prior Notification Received"

Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun stated on August 19 that, regarding the decision by South Korean and U.S. military authorities to end the Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) joint exercise early in line with orders from U.S. President Donald Trump, "I understand that Minister of National Defense Ahn Kyubaek has been in close consultation with the U.S. side following the release of President Trump's message on Truth Social."

Yonhap News Agency

At a plenary session of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee held that morning in Yeouido, Seoul, Minister Cho made this comment in response to a procedural question from Kim Daesik, a lawmaker from the People Power Party, who asked whether the reduction of UFS was pre-coordinated with the South Korean government. "The South Korea-U.S. alliance is strong, and both countries have continued extremely close consultations," Cho emphasized.

Previously, President Trump announced on August 16 (local time) via Truth Social, "Given the good relationship that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and I have built, I am not happy with the fact that the United States had agreed long ago to take part in joint military exercises with South Korea," adding, "I have ordered the reduction of the exercises."

The Joint Chiefs of Staff released a statement that day saying, "At the suggestion of the United States, South Korea and the U.S. have agreed to adjust the UFS exercise period to conclude by August 21." The second part of the command post exercise, which involves practicing counteroffensive operations, has been canceled, and it has been reported that the combined field training exercise (FTX) will also be scaled down.

When asked when he became aware of the UFS reduction, Minister Cho said, "Neither our government nor relevant U.S. officials had any prior knowledge of the content President Trump disclosed on Truth Social, so we were not notified in advance."

Regarding whether the decision was made in prior consultation with the South Korean government, Minister Cho reiterated, "Minister Ahn has been in close consultation with the U.S. side since President Trump's message was posted on Truth Social, and I understand the decision was made through those discussions. I do not think it was a unilateral notification from the U.S. side."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.