Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., reacted with alarm to President Donald Trump’s decision to scale back joint military exercises with South Korea while citing his relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, warning that the move raised questions about whose side Trump was really on. Warner’s remarks, posted on X, responded to Trump’s Truth Social post from the previous evening.
Warner: “Whose Side Is He Really On?”
“Holy crap. This one even surprised me,” Warner said. “Trump deciding that he’s going to side with North Korea and downgrade military exercises with South Korea. Isn’t this the same North Korea that has been helping Putin in his war against Ukraine?” Warner went on to note North Korea’s history of alleged cryptocurrency theft and questioned Trump’s approach: “Whose side is he really on? He’s sure as heck not on America’s allies’ side.”
Trump Cited Relationship With Kim in Ordering Cuts
In his post, Trump wrote that “based on my very good relationship with Kim Jong Un, of North Korea,” he was “not happy” that the U.S. had agreed to participate in joint exercises with South Korea, calling them costly and “totally inappropriate and hostile” toward the North. He said he had “instructed Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to substantially reduce the Joint Military Exercises,” and separately noted that South Korea had declined his request to join U.S. efforts on “the Denuclearization of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Top Senate Democrat on Armed Services Calls Decision “Inane, Haphazard”
Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement that Trump’s order was “another inane, haphazard decision by President Trump and his chaotic administration.” Reed said the move suggested “America’s commitments are negotiable” to both allies and adversaries, and argued Kim had “won a propaganda victory” while South Korea had “been punished for no reason beyond Trump’s ego.”
Republican Senator Also Breaks With Trump on the Decision
Criticism of the move was not limited to Democrats. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., wrote on X that South Korea had been “a solid military ally for over 70 years” and argued that scaling back the exercises would only benefit Russia by freeing North Korean troops to continue supporting its war effort in Ukraine.
Pentagon Statement Offered Little Clarity on Implementation
A day after Trump’s post, the Pentagon press office issued a one-line statement to reporters that provided no specifics on how the reduction would be carried out: “The Department of War is actively working on executing the commander in chief’s directive,” using the administration’s preferred name for the department.
Analysts Note Contrast With Trump’s Hardline Iran Approach
Georgetown University professor Victor Cha, who worked on Asia policy in the George W. Bush administration, described Trump as “trending in two opposite directions” — pursuing pragmatic negotiation with a nuclear-armed North Korea while maintaining an uncompromising stance toward Iran. Robert Litwak of George Washington University called the contrast between the two approaches “an incredible tale of two rogue states,” noting the U.S. remains at war with Iran, a nuclear-threshold state, while extending conciliatory gestures to a country that can already target the U.S. homeland with nuclear weapons.
Trump Has Recently Posted Friendly Messages About Kim
In the days surrounding his order, Trump posted a photo of himself with Kim from their 2019 meeting at the Korean border, writing “Kim Jong Un and I get along GREAT!” He followed with another post showing an image of Kim with a caption reading, “Hey Donald, we cool … right?”
Trump’s First-Term Talks With Kim Ended Without a Deal
Trump held three in-person meetings with Kim during his first term, including summits in Singapore and Hanoi, without securing any agreement to dismantle North Korea’s nuclear program. The Hanoi summit collapsed after Kim refused to give up facilities beyond the country’s main enrichment site at Yongbyon, and North Korea’s arsenal has since grown to an estimated 60 nuclear weapons along with missiles believed capable of reaching the United States.
Decision Followed South Korea’s Refusal to Join Iran Pressure Campaign
Trump has also expressed frustration that Seoul had been slow to deliver on what the administration describes as a $350 billion investment pledge, including funding tied to Samsung’s chip manufacturing expansion in Texas. Asked in the Oval Office whether he was prioritizing adversaries over allies, Trump responded, “I’m making it much safer,” adding that “Kim Jong-un has always treated me with great respect.”
Reed Cited Recent NORTHCOM Warning on North Korean Missile Capability
Reed’s statement also referenced a recent warning from NORTHCOM Deputy Commander Lt. Gen. Joseph Jarrard that North Korea had successfully flight-tested intercontinental ballistic missiles with sufficient range to deliver a nuclear payload anywhere in North America, an assessment Reed said stood in tension with Trump’s decision to ease pressure on Pyongyang.
South Korea Says Exercise Will Proceed as Scheduled
South Korea’s Defense Ministry said Ulchi Freedom Shield would “proceed as previously notified and scheduled” despite Trump’s order, while Seoul’s presidential office expressed hope that Trump’s relationship with Kim could help reopen dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang. The exercise, which combines military drills with broader government emergency-preparedness training, began Aug. 17 and is scheduled to run through Aug. 27 with roughly 18,000 South Korean troops and about 28,500 U.S. personnel stationed in the country.
Trump Separately Demanded South Korea Pay $10 Billion
A day after his initial post, Trump told reporters he had spoken with Kim again and said he wants South Korea to pay $10 billion to cover the cost of the joint exercises, according to NPR’s reporting on the exchange. Trump made a similar demand in 2019, during his first term, when he sought a large increase in South Korea’s share of the cost of stationing U.S. troops on the peninsula.
Kim Has Previously Rejected Terms for Renewed Talks
Prospects for a near-term diplomatic breakthrough remain uncertain. Kim said in September 2025 that any renewed U.S. engagement would have to include Washington dropping what he called its “delusional obsession” with North Korean denuclearization — a position that conflicts with the stated U.S. goal underlying decades of negotiations with Pyongyang.
Exercises Set to Run Despite Reduction Order
The current Ulchi Freedom Shield format, which combines military training with broader government readiness exercises, was introduced in 2022, building on a longer lineage of annual U.S.-South Korea combined exercises that has continued in various forms since the 1950s. The specific scope of the ordered reduction remained unclear as of the exercise’s start, as the Pentagon had not detailed which elements of the 11-day drill would be scaled back.