Trump orders drill cut as Lee warns of 'worst-case scenario'

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said Tuesday the country must prepare for the “worst case scenario” after President Donald Trump ordered Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to “substantially reduce” joint military exercises with Seoul. The annual Ulchi Freedom Shield drills, which started Monday and run through Aug. 27, are defensive and not intended to attack North Korea or raise tensions, Lee said, according to a CNBC translation of the Korean release.

Trump posted on Truth Social that the exercises send a signal “totally inappropriate and hostile” to North Korea, citing his “very good” relationship with Kim Jong Un. About 18,000 South Korean troops are participating in this year’s drills. Pyongyang has long denounced the exercises as a rehearsal for invasion. Its foreign affairs ministry said last week that “the U.S. did not conceal its aim to complete preparations for the substantial military confrontation” with the North, adding that the exercises amount to “a rehearsal for an aggressive war.”