Trump scaling down U.S.-South Korea drills risks more than just joint military readiness

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - AUGUST 7: (L to R) Col. Lee Sung-jun, public affairs director of South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff and Col. Ryan Donald, public affairs director of the United Nations Command (UNC), Combined Forces Command (CFC), and United States Forces Korea (USFK) bump fists during the press briefing for the Ulchi Freedom Shield 2025 exercise at the Defense Ministry on August 07, 2025 in Seoul, South Korea. The 11-day Freedom Shield is part of an annual combined training with troops from South Korea and the United States. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)Chung Sung-jun | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesPresident Donald Trump's move to sharply curtail U.S.-South Korean military exercises will not only affect they countries' combat readiness, but also undermine the credibility of American commitments to its alliances. Lieutenant General Chun In-Bum, former commander of the country's Special Warfare Command, was blunt: "scaling back joint exercises like Ulchi Freedom Shield while North Korean troops gain combat experience in Ukraine creates a dangerous operational disconnect."Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said earlier this month that Pyongyang was dispatching u...