Trump suddenly announced joint military exercises between the US and South Korea, but a former US intelligence official took this opportunity to shift the focus onto China.
Al Jazeera reported on August 17 that Scott Uehlinger, a retired U.S. Navy officer and former CIA senior official, claimed in an interview with the media that Trump's actions seem to be related to North Korea and Iran. In fact, these actions reflect Washington's dissatisfaction with the current South Korean government's policy towards China. He even speculated that South Korea's "excessive friendship" with China over the past year has caused concerns among U.S. allies such as Japan, the Philippines, and Australia.
In Yulin's view, South Korea's refusal to cooperate with the US regarding actions in Iran is just "a symptom of a bigger problem." Since South Korean President Li Jae-myeong took office last year, there have been a series of policy disagreements between South Korea and the US. The South Korean government's efforts to improve relations with China particularly upset the US government.
South Korea has been too friendly to China, in my opinion, at least the US government views it that way. Yulin said this is also the reason why Trump chose to reduce the US-Korea military exercises at this time. He also described Trump's approach as a "subtle" form of pressure, intended to remind the Korean government to reconsider some policies on Chinese-related issues from the past year.
March 10, 2025, Pyeongtaek City, South Korea: The US-Korea “Freedom Shield” joint military exercise took place. IC Photo
According to reports, Yulin's statement also highlighted an increasingly obvious disagreement in US-Korea relations in recent years: the role that the United States expects South Korea to play in regional affairs is no longer limited to dealing with North Korea alone.
Over the past 70 years, the US-Korea alliance has always prioritized the security of the Korean Peninsula. The United States has deployed tens of thousands of military personnel in South Korea. The Humphreys Camp located in South Korea is also one of the largest overseas military bases of the United States. Joint US-Korean military exercises have long focused on responding to North Korea. The “BJ Free Shield” exercise also includes training content targeting the capabilities developed by the opposing country in recent years, such as drones, GPS interference, and cyber attacks.
However, as the United States continuously promoted what it termed "Indo-Pacific Strategy", South Korea was also being asked to further participate in U.S. security arrangements at the regional level.
In the interview, Yuliner mentioned Japan, the Philippines, Australia, and even Taiwan, China. He said that these countries are increasingly focusing their attention on China. The changes in South Korea's policies towards China have made other American allies feel 'uneasy'. According to his logic, if Seoul continues to seek improvements in its relations with China, it could conflict with the United States' desire for allies to work together on its strategies towards China.
According to CNN, Trump announced on social media on the 16th that the United States would reduce joint military exercises with South Korea. He said he has a “very good relationship” with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. He also mentioned that military exercises between the US and South Korea are not only costly but also send an “inappropriate and hostile signal” to North Korea.
Then, he suddenly mentioned something that seemed somewhat irrelevant—South Korea had previously refused to participate in the United States’ actions against Iran. Trump said that he had asked the South Korean president whether they were willing to join the United States’ so-called “denuclearization” efforts against Iran. The South Korean side replied, “No, thank you.”
It is not the first time that Trump has used military exercises as a talking point. After his meeting with the United States and North Korea in 2018, he stated that it was inappropriate to continue holding so-called "war games" during nuclear negotiations between the two countries. After failing to reach an agreement at the Hanoi meeting in 2019, the United States and South Korea adjusted their annual large-scale military exercises to smaller-scale exercises. Another reason Trump mentioned at that time was money; he said he did not want to continue conducting military exercises in order to "save hundreds of millions of dollars" for the United States.
China has stated regarding the developments in US and South Korean military exercises that, with the situation on the Korean Peninsula having reached its current state, the root cause is clear. The relevant parties refuse to respond to the nuclear disarmament measures taken by North Korea, instead continuously increasing pressure and deterrence against North Korea. The current situation on the peninsula is highly complex and sensitive. All parties involved should exercise restraint and do more things that are conducive to peace and stability on the peninsula, rather than doing the opposite.
The joint military exercise, known as the “Eas Wing Freedom Shield,” was originally scheduled to begin on the 17th and last for 10 days, with at least 18,000 South Korean soldiers participating. The South Korean Joint Staff told CNN that the exercise began as planned on the 17th. It remains unclear how much the exercise will be scaled down after Trump demanded a “significant reduction” in the scale of the military exercises.
