Former President Donald Trump stated Wednesday that the joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises are an "insulting" gesture toward North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump also indicated that the exercises, which were recently shortened, would not be resumed if he were in office.
His comments followed confirmation from the Department of Defense that the exercises, initially scheduled to conclude on August 27, were shortened by a week and would end on Friday. Trump suggested he had influenced this decision.
"I didn't like the fact that we're doing these massive military exercises really against North Korea," Trump told reporters, adding that he considered it "very insulting to somebody that, frankly, has been, during my term at least, very well-behaved."
Trump also mentioned plans to meet with Kim later this year, though he did not confirm if they have been exchanging letters. He asserted that he has a good relationship with Kim, a sentiment he attributed to his personal rapport with the North Korean leader.
"He likes me, and I like -- I, you know, I just got along with him very good," Trump said. "We had -- we had great meetings. We speak, and I think our nation and I think other nations, frankly, whether it's Japan or South Korea, they're a lot safer if I'm president than if somebody else is president."
During Trump's first term, he met with Kim three times, including two summits. However, these meetings did not result in an agreement on denuclearization, a primary goal of his administration.
North Korea, through state media, responded to the shortened drills, with Kim Yo Jong, Kim Jong Un's sister, stating that the decision changes nothing. She characterized the drills as "provocative" and "aggressive," asserting that their nature would remain unchanged despite modifications in duration and scale.
"We think it's not worth making comments on that and we have no interest in it at all," Kim Yo Jong said.
North Korea has conducted several ballistic missile tests this year, including two in August prior to the joint U.S.-South Korea exercise. The most recent launch was detected by South Korean and Japanese defense authorities.
Trump also criticized South Korea for not assisting the U.S. in the conflict in Ukraine, though he did not elaborate on the specifics of this criticism.