Soldiers assigned to 19th Expeditionary Sustainment Command receive a mission briefing at Camp Henry, South Korea, July 31, 2026. The briefing was in preparation for the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise. (Ji Won Park/U.S. Army)
President Donald Trump in the White House on Monday defended his decision to “substantially reduce” joint military exercises with South Korea and suggested he’s in contact with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Trump told reporters that Kim had responded to his request for dialogue and was “very positive,” but provided no further details, according to online video of the press briefing.
The two leaders met three times during Trump’s first term: June 2018 in Singapore, February 2019 in Hanoi, Vietnam, and again in June that year at the Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Korea.
Trump during the press briefing cited Seoul’s refusal to assist Washington in its conflict with Iran and questioned the cost of U.S. military presence on the peninsula.
Yonhap reported Tuesday that U.S. Forces Korea commander Army Gen. Xavier Brunson visited the ministry offices in Seoul on Tuesday.
USFK spokeswoman Choi Min-jung by phone Tuesday said the command cannot comment on the report. The ministry text message to reporters said it was “unable to confirm” the visit.
Trump said that although the U.S. does not need help in Iran, he recently asked South Korean President Lee Jae Myung if Seoul “would like to give us a little hand,” but Lee said, “No thanks.”
“South Korea has been protected by us for many, many years,” Trump said. “We have 39,000 soldiers over there, guarding you from Kim Jong Un, your next-door neighbor, and you’re not going to help us on a very easy military operation in Iran?”
President Donald Trump speaks in the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., May 25, 2026. (Elizabeth Fraser/U.S. Army)
The U.S. has 26,589 military personnel stationed in South Korea, CNN reported Tuesday, citing a Defense Department personnel and workforce report for March. Stars and Stripes could not immediately verify that report.
Trump questioned why the U.S. is helping South Korea, saying protecting Seoul is costing “billions and billions of dollars.” He said that while he likes Lee, all he wants is “fairness.”
Trump’s remarks followed his Truth Social post the previous day stating he is unhappy with Washington’s participation in the joint Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise, based on his “very good relationship with Kim Jong Un.” Trump’s post preceded the start of the exercise by hours.
“Therefore, and based on the fact that it is too late to cancel, I have instructed Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to substantially reduce the Joint Military Exercises!” Trump wrote.
Trump also said he initially asked South Korea to pay $10 billion for military protection during his first term and that it agreed to pay nearly $3 billion. He also said Seoul “essentially” wasn’t paying for U.S. troop presence on the peninsula.
President Joe Biden rescinded that $3 billion-a-year deal “for whatever reason,” Trump said.
Publicly available information cannot confirm such an agreement was ever finalized or that Biden rescinded it.
In February 2019, Trump reached a deal with Seoul to increase its defense contributions to the U.S. by 8.2%, to about $920 million, according to South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Biden reached a troop-funding deal in 2021, in which Seoul agreed to pay $1.04 billion for hosting U.S. troops, a roughly 14% increase from 2019.
Seoul also agreed to pay 5.4% more the following year, with similar increases annually until 2025 under the deal.
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