North Korea slams joint US-South military drills as 'open threat' to regional security

Published on 19/08/2026 - 5:59 GMT+2•Updated 10:25

North Korean state media slammed joint military drills by the United States and South Korea on Wednesday as a "most immediate and open threat," while not mentioning US President Donald Trump's order to curtail the exercises.

The nuclear-armed North has long voiced outrage at the drills, considering them dress rehearsals for an invasion.

A commentary by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) repeated that position, saying the "drill poses the most immediate and open threat" to North Korea and "regional security".

The commentary was titled: "We Will Exercise Our Right to Self-defence for Neutralising Military Threat from Hostile Forces through More Transparent Action."

On Sunday, Trump stunned allies in the region by ordering the Pentagon to scale back the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises, just a day before they were due to start.

He called the drills "inappropriate and hostile," while praising North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and criticising Seoul for not supporting his war against Iran.

The commentary from Pyongyang did not mention Trump's drawdown order at all, nor the US president's stated desire to resume talks with Kim.

Trump said on Monday that Kim had responded to his overtures, but did not provide further details.

Curtailed drills

Annual war games between South Korea and the US will end around a week earlier than planned, both countries said on Wednesday, after Trump ordered them scaled back.

Seoul's military said the Ulchi Freedom Shield drills would wrap up on Friday, not on 27 August as originally planned.

"We have decided to adjust the UFS exercise period to run from the 17th to the 21st," South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The decision was made "at the suggestion of the US side," it added.

The Pentagon said the "substantially reduced" drills would "preserve essential readiness and...(cause) no degradation to US training objectives."

The exercises are designed to prepare for a possible attack by North Korea.

They were understood to consist of two phases: the first, focused on defending against potential North Korean threats, was due to run until Friday; and the second, focused on a counteroffensive, from 24-27 August.

The second phase is now understood to have been scrapped.

The United States stations about 28,500 troops in South Korea to bolster the country's defences, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War that ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty.

Trump has repeatedly criticised longstanding US alliances, casting doubt on Washington's commitment to security in East Asia and alarming regional partners.