South Korea on Monday said it was closely consulting with the United States on practical and military contributions to international efforts to secure a ceasefire in Iran and restore freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, Yonhap News Agency reported.
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The South Korean presidential office also said Seoul and Washington were coordinating on maintaining a combined defence posture and conducting joint drills and exercises.
The development comes after US president Donald Trump instructed secretary of war Pete Hegseth to “substantially reduce” joint military exercises with South Korea, citing his relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and describing the drills as “costly” and “inappropriate”.
Trump said on Sunday he was “not happy” that the United States had previously agreed to participate in joint military exercises with South Korea.
"Based on my very good relationship with Kim Jong Un, of North Korea, I am not happy with the fact that the United States has, long ago, agreed to participate in Joint Military Exercises with South Korea," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
"The government takes note of President Trump's social media message," the presidential office in Seoul said.
In his Sunday post, Trump also said he had recently asked South Korean President Lee Jae Myung whether Seoul would be willing to join efforts to denuclearise Iran, but was told, “No thanks.”
The post came as the annual summertime Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise between Seoul and Washington was set to begin on Monday. North Korea has long condemned the drills, describing them as a rehearsal for an invasion.
The Cheong Wa Dae, or Blue House, also expressed hope that the relationship between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un could help revive dialogue on the Korean Peninsula.
“We expect friendly relations between the North Korean and US leaders to lead to meaningful North Korea-US talks and the start of discussions aimed at advancing peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula,” Cheong Wa Dae said, adding that it would seek to play the role of a “peacemaker” in those efforts.
The White House has repeatedly said Trump remains open to dialogue with Pyongyang “without any preconditions”.
Trump held three face-to-face meetings with Kim during his first term, in Singapore in June 2018, Hanoi in February 2019 and at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom in June 2019.
The joint military drills, known as “Ulchi Freedom Shield”, are scheduled to run from August 17 to August 27. The exercises will include training to counter drones, GPS disruptions and cyberattacks as the US and its allies seek to respond to North Korea’s evolving military capabilities.
