US-South Korea drill cuts

Trump orders Pentagon to scale back joint military drills with South Korea

US President Donald Trump said he ordered the Pentagon to scale back joint military drills with South Korea, calling them "inappropriate and hostile," hours before the exercises began on Monday. He cited his "very good relationship" with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and said Seoul had declined to help with Iran's denuclearization. The move comes despite warnings from US and South Korean officials that Kim's regime is expanding its capabilities.