Trump wants to be friends with Kim - but South Korea could pay the price - BBC News

US military exercises with South Korea end early on Friday, at a time when the North is in a position of strength.

Image source, ReutersImage caption, Trump and Kim met at Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in 2019

South Korea's annual military exercises with the US come to an abrupt end on Friday.

Ulchi Freedom Shield, which involves 18,000 South Korean troops and 11 other American ally nations, is being halted with only half of the scheduled programme complete - days after US President Donald Trump announced he had ordered the Pentagon to "substantially reduce" the drill.

This revelation by Trump, who called the exercise "inappropriate and hostile" towards North Korea and costly to the US, caught his allies by surprise.

Seoul's Foreign Minister Cho Hyun tried to paint the decision as one of mutual agreement, but admitted officials did not know of Trump's intent to scale down the exercise in advance.