Seoul: South Korea's military announced that it is scaling back its annual joint exercises with the United States, which began earlier this week. "The allies agreed to cut short the Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise to Friday, paring down the drills period almost by half," Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a release. The UFS was originally scheduled to run from August 17 to 27.

According to Qatar News Agency, field training exercises, which are a key component of the drills, will also be reduced to some extent, with discussions underway between the two militaries to decide on the detailed plans, the JCS said. The decision comes amid ongoing evaluations of the exercises' scope and impact.

US President Donald Trump ordered the reduction of joint military exercises with South Korea on Monday. In a post on Truth Social, Trump stated that the exercises are not only costly but also send an inappropriate message to North Korea. He noted that North Korea posed no threat during his time in the White House, prompting his decision to scale back the military activities.