BBC says 'Taiwan and Japan feel uneasy': Trump wants to be friends with Kim Jong-un, South Korea may pay the price

South Korea and the United States' annual joint military exercise will abruptly end this Friday (August 21). The 'Ulchi Freedom Shield' drill involves 18,000 South Korean troops and 11 other US-allied nations, but it is being halted after completing only half of its scheduled program. A few days ago, US President Donald Trump announced he had ordered the Pentagon to 'significantly reduce' the exercise. Trump said the drill was 'inappropriate and hostile' toward North Korea and too costly for the United States. His announcement surprised allies. South Korea's Foreign Minister Cho Hyun acknowledged officials were unaware beforehand of Trump's intention to scale down the exercise, though he tried to frame the decision as mutually agreed. The move has also unsettled countries like Taiwan and Japan, which long rely on US security guarantees in the region. Trump criticized Seoul for refusing to join actions against Iran and said he expects to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un later this year. While South Korea has long wanted Trump to engage Kim to maintain diplomatic dialogue, it does not want such engagement to come with cash demands or pressure to assist in military actions related to Iran. South Korea sees annual joint exercises with the US as central to the alliance and a demonstration of America's commitment to defend it from Pyongyang's threats. Although Seoul has previously agreed to scale down or suspend drills to encourage North Korea to restart peace talks, Atlantic Council senior fellow Cho Pyeong-hwa said Trump's unilateral and sudden decision to withdraw troops has shaken South Korea's confidence in the US as an ally. There are concerns Trump may go further, reducing the 27,000 US troops stationed in South Korea or even abandoning the long-standing policy of pushing for North Korean denuclearization—decisions that could be made without consulting allies. Since no peace treaty was signed after the Korean War, North and South Korea remain technically at war. Until Kim Jong-un abandoned the idea in 2024, unification with South Korea was a key part of North Korea's ideology—though increasingly unrealistic. Still, threats against South Korea have never ceased. Just days before the drills began, North Korea launched ballistic missiles toward Japan and reaffirmed its right to use nuclear weapons if its nation is threatened. On Thursday (20th), Pyongyang launched more missiles. What worries South Korea now is that the Trump administration no longer separates security and trade issues. Trump expressed dissatisfaction with South Korea's refusal to join its war against Iran and criticized its performance as a trade partner. His administration complained that South Korea's annual $1 billion (6.72 billion RMB; 31.8 billion TWD) contribution to US troop costs is insufficient, delayed its promised $350 billion investment, and discriminated against American businesses operating locally. Trade disputes are now evolving into national security issues, prompting calls for South Korea to reduce its dependence on the US. Sejong Institute Vice President Jeong Seong-jang advocates that South Korea develop its own nuclear weapons. He says Seoul must maintain its alliance with the US but also 'take measures to acquire its own nuclear deterrent capability.' While most South Koreans support their country possessing nuclear weapons, the government has long believed it is unnecessary and could damage its alliance network. That view might change if the US further withdraws from Asia. Meanwhile, South Korea has tried to find a positive angle in Trump's early termination of the drills. President Lee Jae-myung, who has sought to repair relations with North Korea, praised Trump on social media platform X. He wrote: 'I believe President Trump's message this time is a significant decision, containing deep consideration for moving the Korean Peninsula beyond hostility and confrontation toward peace.' Lee pledged to increase defense spending and said he 'fully agrees' with Trump's view that South Korea should take responsibility for its own national security. Since Trump's first term, Seoul has seen his seemingly erratic diplomatic style as both a risk and an opportunity. By combining flattery with blind optimism, Seoul successfully facilitated the historic first meeting between the US president and Kim Jong-un in 2018. However, immediately after that meeting, Trump suddenly announced the suspension of joint military exercises with South Korea. In 2019, when Kim refused to give up all his nuclear facilities, Trump walked away from their second summit without an agreement. Later that year, after a brief symbolic meeting at Panmunjom, the two leaders held no further substantive talks. After these summits, Seoul bore the brunt of Pyongyang's anger. North Korea blew up the inter-Korean liaison office on its territory and later vowed to cut all communications. It also introduced new laws allowing the death penalty for sharing South Korean films and TV shows and enshrined the right to use nuclear weapons in its constitution. Meanwhile, Trump has consistently claimed he has a 'good relationship' with Kim Jong-un and told reporters on Wednesday (19th): 'He likes me.' However, Kim's powerful sister Kim Yo-jong stated she was unaware of Trump's claim that her brother had recently contacted him, adding: 'Perhaps this is the only thing about my country's top leader's foreign policy that I don't know.' She reiterated North Korea's position that it will never give up nuclear weapons, as they help enhance regional power balance and stability. According to official media, Kim Yo-jong also said scaling down joint drills with South Korea 'is not worth commenting on, nor do we have any interest,' and does not change 'the provocative and aggressive nature of the military exercises.' Although Trump said he plans to meet Kim Jong-un by year-end, few experts believe another summit will happen, especially as Kim benefits from his alliance with Moscow and strengthens ties with China. Unless Trump is ready to publicly accept North Korea as a nuclear-armed state—Pyongyang's core demand—North Korea has no incentive to engage. Scaling down the drills itself is a major concession, not only to Pyongyang but also to Beijing, as China also views these exercises as a threat to its security. It could also open the door for North Korea to make further demands at a time when it appears militarily stronger. Despite Trump repeatedly claiming North Korea is not a threat, the country has never stopped enhancing its operational capabilities. North Korea has conducted six nuclear tests and has the ability to deliver nuclear weapons via long-range missiles capable of striking the US mainland. Recently, North Korea has joined Russia's war in Ukraine, reportedly providing billions of dollars worth of artillery shells and missiles and sending at least 13,000 troops. Though suffering thousands of casualties, its forces have become familiar with drone warfare and absorbed lessons from the Ukraine war. In Cho Pyeong-hwa's view, South Korea has limited means to defend against North Korea, making the alliance with the US a 'matter of life and death.' This article was originally written in English. We used artificial intelligence to assist with translation, and it was reviewed by BBC journalists before publication. Learn more about how we use artificial intelligence.