{"id":57293,"date":"2018-06-14T21:16:15","date_gmt":"2018-06-14T21:16:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/06\/14\/trumps-halt-of-war-games-could-weaken-defenses-in-korea\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T09:56:25","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T09:56:25","slug":"trumps-halt-of-war-games-could-weaken-defenses-in-korea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/06\/14\/trumps-halt-of-war-games-could-weaken-defenses-in-korea\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s halt of \u2018war games\u2019 could weaken defenses in Korea"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 President Donald Trump\u2019s decision to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2018\/06\/12\/pentagon-assessing-trump-directive-to-cancel-korea-military-exercises\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">suspend major U.S. military exercises in South Korea<\/a> could weaken allied defenses, depending on the length and scope of the hiatus. But the potential for diplomatic damage seems even greater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The United States, South Korea and Japan were making a public display of solidarity Thursday over the outcome of Trump\u2019s summit with North Korea\u2019s Kim Jong Un. But analysts and former officials with experience in U.S.-Asia policy were shaken by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2018\/06\/13\/trump-tweet-adds-more-confusion-to-issue-of-pacific-military-exercises\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">Trump\u2019s failure to inform the Asian allies<\/a> \u2014 or even the Pentagon \u2014 before mothballing the military maneuvers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThose exercises are critically important because they are deterrence,\u201d said Chuck Hagel, a former defense secretary in the Obama administration. He welcomed Trump\u2019s willingness to talk to Kim but worried that the president has underestimated the complications he has introduced for the Pentagon by suspending the military drills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou don\u2019t just shut them on and off like a water faucet,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/06\/14\/report-south-korea-military-exercises-suspended-indefinitely\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"192\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2462525.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Report: South Korea military exercises \u2018suspended indefinitely\u2019<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The next exercise, Ulchi Freedom Guardian, was set for August.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The exercises in question go well beyond routine training, which apparently is unaffected by Trump\u2019s decision. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2018\/04\/24\/ahead-of-summits-us-tones-down-war-games-with-south-korea\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">Large-scale exercises <\/a>are done to ensure that evolving tactics, procedures and plans can be carried out smoothly and that U.S. and South Korean forces are in sync. They also are a means of showing allied solidarity, which is part of the psychology of deterring enemy attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The U.S. has stationed combat troops in South Korea since the Korean War ended in 1953 with an armistice and no peace treaty. The more than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2018\/05\/03\/will-we-stay-or-will-we-go-a-look-at-removing-us-troops-from-south-korea\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">28,000 U.S. forces<\/a> serve as a military tripwire against North Korean aggression. The next major exercise with South Korea is known as Ulchi Freedom Guardian; last year\u2019s version was held for 11 days in August and involved about 17,500 U.S. troops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"763\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2462532.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-95021\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2462532.jpg.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2462532.jpg.jpg?resize=300,191 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2462532.jpg.jpg?resize=768,488 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2462532.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,651 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">U.S soldiers and Republic of Korea soldiers conduct an urban breaching at Rodriguez Live Fire Range, South Korea, March 9, 2016. (Staff. Sgt Kwadwo Frimpong\/Army)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The U.S. has insisted these kinds of drills are defensive measures to demonstrate U.S. and South Korean preparedness to respond promptly to any aggression by the North. But when Trump announced his decision to halt them, he characterized them as \u201cprovocative\u201d and as \u201cwar games.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThose are literally the North Korean and Chinese talking points,\u201d said Christine Wormuth, the Pentagon\u2019s top policy official from 2014 to 2016. She noted that the North and China have long complained that the military exercises, including those involving U.S. strategic bombers, are a rehearsal for invasion.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/06\/14\/trump-on-video-saluting-north-korean-general-at-summit\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/trump_salute.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Trump on video saluting North Korean general at summit<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Trump returned the salute as Kim Jong Un smiled in the background.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In further explaining his reasons for suspending major exercises, Trump said they \u201ccost a fortune,\u201d though even the Pentagon, which foots the bill for U.S. participation in all such maneuvers, has been unable to say what they cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Defense Secretary Jim Mattis\u2019 office on Wednesday sent out a request to military commands for cost estimates for the main military exercises held on and around the Korean Peninsula, according to officials who spoke about the request on condition of anonymity to discuss internal communications. In the past, some estimates for smaller exercises have been about $2 million, while some larger ones have cost $15 million or more \u2014 all relatively minor expenses for a department with a budget now exceeding $700 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Thursday, the Pentagon issued a brief statement saying Mattis had discussed the summit outcome with his South Korean counterpart, including they can work together to \u201cfulfill the president\u2019s guidance\u201d on military exercises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Michael Green, who was Asia director on the National Security Council staff during the George W. Bush administration, said the likely damage from suspending drills is multiplied by Trump\u2019s failure to inform South Korean and Japanese officials in advance and his focus on cost-savings from the suspension. This was then compounded, in Green\u2019s view, by Trump\u2019s dubious assertion on Twitter that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2018\/06\/13\/trump-claim-raises-eyebrows-north-korea-no-longer-a-nuke-threat\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">North Korea no longer poses a nuclear threat.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe No. 1 problem with this, geopolitically, is that it suggests to our allies that we are just incompetent, that we don\u2019t recognize the threat,\u201d Green said. He worries that it undermines confidence in the American commitment to the defense of South Korea and Japan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"apester-media\" data-media-id=\"5b203074ed4c5314a686450f\" height=\"440\"><\/div><script async src=\"\/\/static.apester.com\/js\/sdk\/v2.0\/apester-javascript-sdk.min.js\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Harry Harris, the retired Navy admiral and former commander of U.S. forces throughout the Pacific, said Thursday he believes the North\u2019s nuclear weapons still pose a threat, but he endorsed Trump\u2019s decision to suspend U.S. military exercises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe should give major exercises a pause to see if Kim Jong Un is serious about his part of the negotiations,\u201d Harris said at a Senate hearing to consider his nomination to be U.S. ambassador in Seoul. Harris said the suspension of drills reflects a \u201cnew landscape\u201d in Korea and provides \u201cbreathing space\u201d for progress in negotiating North Korea\u2019s nuclear disarmament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Without mentioning that South Korea and Japan were not consulted before Trump suspended drills, Harris said such decisions should not be taken unilaterally.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/training-sim\/2018\/06\/12\/trumps-nominee-for-ambassador-to-south-korea-was-a-vocal-supporter-of-joint-military-drills\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"217\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/korea.jpg_6a005e.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Trump\u2019s nominee for ambassador to South Korea was a vocal supporter of joint military drills<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">U.S. President Trump is calling on the military to suspend joint military exercises with treaty ally South Korea on the eve of the confirmation hearing for his prospective ambassador to the country.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, meanwhile, briefed his South Korean, Japanese and Chinese counterparts on the Singapore summit. At a news conference in Seoul, Pompeo said \u201cstaying closely aligned with our allies &#8230; will be critical\u201d to success with North Korean denuclearization, but he had nothing to say about the suspension of military drills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The White House has said that the maneuvers were suspended \u201cin a show of good faith,\u201d for as long as productive negotiations with the North continue, and that \u201cregular readiness training and training exchanges\u201d will continue. The Pentagon, however, has remained silent on what Trump meant and hasn\u2019t confirmed it will cancel or postpone the Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When Ulchi Freedom Guardian was announced last year, the U.S. military called it a \u201ccomputer-simulated defensive exercise designed to enhance readiness.\u201d Also participating were troops from nations that contributed forces during the 1950-53 Korean War, including Australia, Britain, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, New Zealand and the Netherlands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Wormuth\u2019s view, Trump\u2019s stated concern about the cost of such exercises, combined with his talk of eventually bringing all U.S. troops home from South Korea, is likely to create doubt in Seoul and Tokyo about American steadfastness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis is going to further erode people\u2019s confidence in our staying power,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Associated Press writer Lolita C. Baldor contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>President Donald Trump\u2019s decision to suspend major U.S. military exercises in South Korea could weaken allied defenses, depending on the length and scope of the hiatus. But the potential for diplomatic damage seems even greater.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":38485,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":8,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,8,23,88,89,12,26,62,65],"tags":[],"coauthors":[2484],"class_list":["post-57293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-flashpoints","category-home","category-left-column","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress","category-your-navy"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"P3MNWFMANJEFJBPF3TVRDQS25M","arc_canonical_url":"\/flashpoints\/2018\/06\/14\/trumps-halt-of-war-games-could-weaken-defenses-in-korea\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Trump\u2019s halt of \u2018war games\u2019 could weaken defenses in Korea - Navy Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"President Donald Trump\u2019s decision to suspend major U.S. military exercises in South Korea could weaken allied defenses, depending on the length and scope of the hiatus. But the potential for diplomatic damage seems even greater.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trump\u2019s halt of \u2018war games\u2019 could weaken defenses in Korea\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"President Donald Trump\u2019s decision to suspend major U.S. military exercises in South Korea could weaken allied defenses, depending on the length and scope of the hiatus. But the potential for diplomatic damage seems even greater.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/06\/14\/trumps-halt-of-war-games-could-weaken-defenses-in-korea\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Navy Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-06-14T21:16:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T09:56:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Robert Burns, The Associated Press\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Robert Burns, The Associated Press\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/2018\\\/06\\\/14\\\/trumps-halt-of-war-games-could-weaken-defenses-in-korea\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/2018\\\/06\\\/14\\\/trumps-halt-of-war-games-could-weaken-defenses-in-korea\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Trump\u2019s halt of \u2018war games\u2019 could weaken defenses in Korea\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2018-06-14T21:16:15+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T09:56:25+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/2018\\\/06\\\/14\\\/trumps-halt-of-war-games-could-weaken-defenses-in-korea\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 1046,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/2018\\\/06\\\/14\\\/trumps-halt-of-war-games-could-weaken-defenses-in-korea\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP18165201054441.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"Flashpoints\",\n\t                \"Home\",\n\t                \"Left Column\",\n\t                \"Middle Column\",\n\t                \"News\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"Pentagon &amp; 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