SEOUL, South Korea (AP) 鈥� North Korea said Wednesday that a U.S. decision to scale back with South Korea does not change what it sees as the provocative nature of the drills, dampening hopes for an early resumption of diplomacy between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump.
The of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made the comments Wednesday night in her country鈥檚 first reaction to to drastically cut back the annual U.S.-South Korean military drills.
鈥淲e think it鈥檚 not worth making comments on that and we have no interest in it at all,鈥� Kim Yo Jong said in a statement carried by state media. 鈥淭he provocative, aggressive nature of the drills won鈥檛 change even though their duration and size were reduced.鈥�
She also cited a series of other military drills carried out by the U.S. and South Korea earlier this year and South Korea鈥檚 push to introduce nuclear-powered submarines.
Kim Yo Jong denied that there are any communications between Trump and Kim. Earlier this week, pressed by reporters on whether he had a conversation with Trump said that Kim had responded to his request for a conversation.
Kim Yo Jong’s statement did not contain North Korea鈥檚 typically harsh rhetoric. She briefly said relations between her brother and Trump are 鈥渟till excellent,” mentioning her brother鈥檚 past comments that he still has 鈥済ood memories鈥� of Trump. This suggests North Korea may be trying to manage relations with Trump, while seeking bigger concessions to restart talks.
When asked by reporters Wednesday if he will meet with Kim Jong Un this year, Trump said that 鈥淵eah, I will be.鈥� He wouldn鈥檛 answer a question about whether he is exchanging letters with Kim but said he gets along with him.
US and South Korea confirm drastic slashing of drills
Kim Yo Jong’s statement came hours after the South Korean and U.S. militaries confirmed they were scaling back their 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises. Trump earlier ordered the Pentagon to 鈥渟ubstantially reduce鈥� the exercises, citing what he said was a good relationship with Kim and South Korea鈥檚 refusal to support him over
South Korean officials said Trump鈥檚 announcement came without prior notice, baffling many people in the Asian country and raising concerns about joint defense readiness.
South Korea鈥檚 military said the allies agreed to adjust the duration and scale of the exercises at the request of the U.S. It said the would end Friday, not Aug. 27 as initially planned. It added that the allies also agreed to downsize some joint field training exercises.
The Pentagon said that it was 鈥渃ontinuing training that enhances tactical capability鈥� but certain events have been canceled or converted to simulations. 鈥淭hese adjustments preserve essential readiness and training objectives. There will be no degradation to U.S. training objectives,鈥� a Pentagon statement said.
is largely a computer-simulated command post exercise meant to hone the allies鈥� ability to deal with potential North Korean aggression. The two countries usually hold a set of field training exercises during the command post exercise period.
The drills are a central pillar of the U.S.-South Korea alliance, which dates to the 1950-53 Korean War. But they also are a long-running source of animosities with North Korea, which has as a rehearsal for an invasion and responded with provocative missile tests. Days before this month’s drills began, North Korea launched two into the sea.
This month’s drills were initially supposed to be held in two phases in simulation of North Korean attacks 鈥� the first part until this Friday on defensive operations and the second part until Aug. 27 on counteroffensive operations. North Korea is extremely sensitive to counteroffensive drills, according to South Korean media.
Prospects for Trump-Kim summit unclear
Earlier Wednesday, North Korea’s state news agency, KCNA, published a commentary slamming the U.S.-South Korean military drills as 鈥渇rantic鈥� and 鈥渆xtremely dangerous鈥� and vowing to completely frustrate its rivals鈥� hostilities.
Many experts said Kim, now emboldened by his and expanding military , won’t likely embrace Trump’s overture and return to talks anytime soon unless he’s promised bigger concessions. Kim suggested last year that he could only return to talks if the U.S. drops its demand for as a precondition for diplomacy.
Trump claimed Wednesday that North Korea has 57 nuclear weapons. Some experts put the size of the North鈥檚 arsenal at more than 100 warheads.
South Korea鈥檚 intelligence service estimated last year that North Korea sent about 15,000 troops to support Russia’s war against Ukraine. Earlier this month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said North Korea was preparing to send more troops to Russia. But in her Wednesday statement, Kim Yo Jong flatly denied that, calling it 鈥渁n ungrounded farce.”
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung hailed Trump’s decision, saying in his X message Wednesday that he hopes it would lead to reopening dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang and promoting peace on the Korean Peninsula. is a liberal who wants better ties with North Korea.
South Korea’s main opposition conservative party earlier accused Lee’s government of prioritizing the resumption of over security concerns caused by Trump’s move.
met three times from 2018-2019 but their high-stakes diplomacy eventually fell apart over over a North Korean demand for extensive sanctions relief in return for limited denuclearization steps.
Trump’s move may focus on South Korea over Iran
In his social media post, Trump said the drills are not only costly but 鈥渟end a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile鈥� to North Korea, which he said 鈥渉as been unthreatening and respectful鈥� during his time in the White House. Trump said he asked Lee if South Korea would join the U.S. in the 鈥渄enuclearization鈥� of Iran, 鈥渁nd they said, 鈥楴o thanks!鈥欌��
At separate parliamentary hearings Wednesday, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back said neither South Korean nor U.S. officials were informed of Trump’s move before his social media post. Cho said remains strong, while Ahn said South Korean and U.S. defense officials were maintaining close consultations.
Some experts say Trump’s cut of the drills was more likely designed to apply pressure on South Korea to give him substantial support over the Iran war than to reach out to North Korea.
鈥淭rump’s message is that if you don鈥檛 cooperate with us on Iran, we鈥檙e not cooperating with you鈥� on the drills either, said Yang Uk, an analyst at Seoul鈥檚 Asan Institute for Policy Studies. 鈥淚t’s like he’s asking South Korea to show it’s helping him over Iran鈥� by taking steps like sending warships or reinforcing missile defenses in some areas.
South Korean officials said South Korea and the U.S. are closely discussing practical and military contributions that South Korea can make to help restore freedom of navigation in the .
It wasn’t the first time that the U.S. and South Korea have scaled back or canceled their drills.
In 2018, Trump abruptly announced the cancellation of a major war game with South Korea, after his first summit with Kim. The U.S. and South Korea have since canceled or to support diplomacy with North Korea and cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Associated Press writer Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed to this report.
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