US President Donald Trump stated that he is dissatisfied with the US participation in military exercises with South Korea and instructed the head of the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth, to reduce the scale of the joint maneuvers.
The Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises, aimed at deterring North Korea, began on Monday, writes the BBC.
"Given my very good relations with Kim Jong Un of North Korea (the leaders last met in 2019), I am dissatisfied that the United States long ago agreed to participate in joint military exercises with South Korea," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
He also complained that Seoul refused to join the US in a war with Iran.
"I recently asked the President of South Korea if they would like to join us in denuclearizing the Islamic Republic of Iran, to which they replied: 'No, thank you!'"
"These exercises are not only expensive — with most of the costs, as usual, paid by the US — but also send a completely inappropriate and hostile signal to a country which, during Donald Trump's presidency, posed no threat and showed respect," added the American leader.
Trump said that it was already too late to cancel the exercises, which would continue for another 11 days, so he ordered the Secretary of Defense to "significantly reduce" their scale.
Last week, the military command of the US and South Korea held a joint press conference dedicated to the exercises. It was announced there that this year's maneuvers would not be inferior in scale to the exercises of previous years: about 18,000 South Korean military personnel would participate in them.
Last Saturday, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung proposed to North Korea to begin negotiations on ending the war, which has formally continued for more than 70 years.
"Let us abandon our desire to threaten each other and, as direct participants, begin a discussion on ending this prolonged war," said President Lee at a ceremony on the occasion of the anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japanese occupation during World War II.
"Thanks to this, it may be possible to discuss effective measures by which it will be possible to stop the development of North Korea's nuclear capabilities," added Lee.
North Korea firmly states that it has no intention of giving up its nuclear arsenal.
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Лапидарии они такие, всюду одинаковые....