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North Korea shrugs off Trump’s scaled-back drills with South Korea, saying it changes nothing
The allies shortened the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise to Friday after Washington said the drills were costly and too provocative, officials said.
- Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, stated on August 19, 2026, that reducing the duration and size of joint U.S.–South Korea military drills does not alter what Pyongyang views as their "provocative and aggressive nature".
- U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon to "substantially reduce" the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises, citing his good relationship with Kim Jong Un and expressing dissatisfaction with South Korea over a lack of support regarding Iran.
- Following the order from Washington, the U.S. and South Korean militaries agreed to shorten the 11-day joint drills—ending them early on August 21 instead of August 27—and canceled or converted several field training events to computer simulations.
- Kim Yo Jong remarked that Pyongyang has "no interest" in commenting on the adjustments, while explicitly denying claims by Trump that active communication or personal dialogue had taken place between the two leaders.
- Despite dismissing the scaled-back drills, Kim Yo Jong refrained from using extreme rhetoric, noting that personal relations between Kim Jong Un and Trump remain "great" and signaling a desire to manage potential future negotiations.
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Donald Trump decided to scale back military exercises with South Korea and called North Korea amicable and respectful.
·Helsinki, Finland
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(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Eun-jung = The 'Ulchi Freedom Shield' (UFS) exercise, a regular South Korea-U.S. joint military drill for the defense of the Korean Peninsula in times of emergency, began on the 21st...
·Seoul, Korea (the Republic of)
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources63
Leaning Left27Leaning Right11Center19Last UpdatedBias Distribution48% Left
Bias Distribution
- 48% of the sources lean Left
48% Left
L 48%
C 33%
R 19%
Factuality
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