US President Donald Trump on Sunday ordered the Pentagon to “substantially reduce” planned joint military exercises with South Korea, citing their cost and his relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The US and South Korean militaries were due to begin their annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises on Monday.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the drills were “not only costly, with much of these costs paid for by the United States of America (as usual!), but send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile”. “Therefore, and based on the fact that it is too late to cancel, I have instructed Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to substantially reduce the Joint Military Exercises!” he wrote.

The exercises are scheduled to last 11 days and involve about 18,000 South Korean troops. They are designed to strengthen the two countries’ ability to respond to threats from North Korea.

US and South Korean forces were expected to practise joint operations in a range of scenarios, including a live-fire exercise testing precision targeting and manoeuvres, a wet-gap crossing and the distribution of pre-positioned military equipment.

Trump said North Korea had been “unthreatening and respectful” towards him while he has been in office. He also pointed to his “very good relationship” with Mr Kim as a reason for opposing the exercises.

A day before his announcement, Trump posted a photograph of himself with the North Korean leader, saying the two had a good relationship “despite the unfriendly look on this particular picture”.

North Korea has long criticised US-South Korean military exercises, describing them as preparation for an attack. Its Foreign Ministry has called the training “a rehearsal for an aggressive war” and warned that the drills were creating greater instability in the region.

North Korea conducted a ballistic missile test on Wednesday, its first since June. US, South Korean and Japanese officials condemned the launch, while experts and military officials assessed it as an apparent protest against the planned exercises.

Trump’s decision comes as the US is also repositioning military assets in the region.

The USS George Washington, which is based in Japan, is being redeployed from the Pacific to the Middle East, where it is expected to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln.

The move would leave the US without an aircraft carrier in the Pacific while Washington is also scaling back the exercises with South Korea.

Trump met Kim three times during his first term as president to discuss North Korea’s nuclear programme, most recently in 2019. Since returning to office, Trump has expressed interest in restarting those discussions.

He also sought to reduce US-South Korean military exercises during his first term.

After meeting Kim in Singapore in 2018, Trump described the exercises as “provocative”. “We will be stopping the war games, which will save us a tremendous amount of money, unless and until we see the future negotiation is not going along like it should,” he said at the time.

Trump has also cited South Korea’s refusal to help the US denuclearise Iran as another factor behind his latest decision to reduce the exercises.