Trump’s Korean gambit exposes a shifting East Asian order

Founding director of the China Institute and Mactaggart Research Chair Emeritus at the University of Alberta.Published On 26 Aug 202626 Aug 2026When President Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon to cut the annual United States-South Korea Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) military exercise planned for mid-August from 11 days to five, he laid bare the transactional logic of his approach to East Asia. The move blindsided Seoul and drew a calculated rebuff from Pyongyang, underscoring how growing doubts about the US defence umbrella are reshaping strategic calculations across the region.Trump framed the reduction as a goodwill gesture towards Kim Jong Un, whom he described as a leader he “knows very well” and with whom he has a “very good relationship”. He claimed the drills sent a “totally inappropriate and hostile” signal to Pyongyang and linked the decision directly to Seoul’s refusal to join the US war effort in Iran, declaring that America “can’t go around and protect all of these countries, especially when they’re not there to help us”.Pyongyang’s response to Trump’s overture was carefully calibrated. Kim Yo Jong, Kim Jong Un’s sister, stated she was “unaware” of any communication betwee...