South Korea, US militaries will stage large-scale drills this month to address North Korean threats

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea and the United States will launch their annual large-scale military exercise this month to bolster readiness against North Korean threats, the allies said Thursday, in a move likely to irritate Pyongyang amid a prolonged stalemate in diplomacy.

The exercise also comes against the backdrop of concerns in Seoul that the Trump administration could shake up the decades-old alliance by demanding higher payments for the U.S. troop presence in South Korea and possibly move to reduce it as Washington puts more focus on China.

Ulchi Freedom Shield, the second of two large-scale exercises held annually in South Korea, following another set of drills in March, typically involves thousands of troops in computer-simulated command post training and combined field exercises.

The Aug. 18-28 exercise may trigger an angry reaction from North Korea, which calls the joint drills invasion rehearsals and often uses them as a pretext to dial up military demonstrations and weapons tests aimed at advancing its nuclear program.

Doubling down on its nuclear ambitions, North Korea has repeatedly rejected Washington and Seoul’s calls to resume diplomacy aimed at winding down its weapons program, which derailed in 2019. The North has now made Russia the priority of its foreign policy, sending thousands of troops and large amounts of military equipment to support Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

About 18,000 South Korean troops will take part in this year’s Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson, Col. Lee Sung Joon, said during a joint briefing with U.S. Forces Korea, which did not disclose the number of participating U.S. troops.

Both Lee and U.S. Forces Korea public affairs director Col. Ryan Donald downplayed speculation that South Korea’s new liberal government, led by President Lee Jae Myung, sought to downsize the exercise to create momentum for dialogue with Pyongyang, saying its scale is similar to previous years. However, Col. Lee said about half of the exercise’s originally planned 40 field training programs were postponed to September due to heat concerns.

The threat from North Korea’s advancing nuclear and missile programs will be a key focus of the exercise, which will include training to deter North Korean nuclear use and respond to its missile attacks, Lee said.

The exercise will also incorporate lessons from recent conflicts, including Russia’s war in Ukraine and the clash between Israel and Iran, and address threats from drones, GPS jamming and cyberattacks, Lee and Donald said.

“We look across the globe at the challenges we may face on the battlefield and incorporate that so we can challenge the participants in the exercise,” Donald said. “We are focused on ensuring the alliance is sustainable and credibly deters aggression from the DPRK and addresses the broader regional security challenges,” he said, using the initials of North Korea’s formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The announcement of the exercise came a week after the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un rebuffed overtures by Lee Jae Myung’s government, saying that Seoul’s “blind trust” in its alliance with Washington and hostility toward Pyongyang make it no different from its hard-line conservative predecessor.

Kim Yo Jong later issued a separate statement dismissing the Trump administration’s intent to resume diplomacy on North Korea’s denuclearization, suggesting that Pyongyang — now focused on expanding ties with Russia — sees little urgency in resuming talks with Seoul or Washington.

On the other side of Seoul’s security concerns is whether its alliance with Washington will see dramatic shifts during the second term of President Donald Trump, who has rattled allies and partners with tariff hikes and demands that they reduce their reliance on the U.S. and spend more for their own defense.

Dating back to his first term, Trump has regularly called for South Korea to pay more for the 28,500 American troops stationed on its soil. Recent comments by key Trump administration officials, including Undersecretary of Defense Elbridge Colby, have also suggested a desire to restructure the alliance, which some experts say could potentially affect the size and roles of U.S. forces in South Korea.

Under this approach, South Korea would take a greater role in countering North Korean threats while U.S. forces focus more on China, possibly leaving Seoul to face reduced benefits but increased costs and risks, experts say. During Thursday's news conference, Donald did not provide a specific answer when asked whether U.S. and South Korean troops during their combined exercise will train for any possible realignment of U.S. troops to face broader regional threats.

The future of the alliance will possibly be a topic in a summit between Trump and South Korean President Lee, which is expected this month. In a recent interview with the Washington Post, Lee’s foreign minister, Cho Hyun, downplayed the possibility of significant changes to the U.S. military presence in South Korea.

“We are talking with the United States, but there is no concern about the U.S. forces in Korea. We believe that they will remain as such and their role will remain as of today,” he said.

Col. Lee Sung-jun, left, public affairs director of South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff attends a press briefing of Ulchi Freedom Shield 2025 exercise at the Defense Ministry in Seoul Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (Chung Sung-Jun/Pool Photo via AP)

Col. Ryan Donald, public affairs director of the United Nations Command (UNC), Combined Forces Command (CFC), and United States Forces Korea (USFK) attends a press briefing of Ulchi Freedom Shield 2025 exercise at the Defense Ministry in Seoul Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (Chung Sung-Jun/Pool Photo via AP)

Col. Lee Sung-jun, left, public affairs director of South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff and Col. Ryan Donald, public affairs director of the United Nations Command (UNC), Combined Forces Command (CFC), and United States Forces Korea (USFK) attend a press briefing of Ulchi Freedom Shield 2025 exercise at the Defense Ministry in Seoul Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (Chung Sung-Jun/Pool Photo via AP)

Col. Lee Sung-jun, left, public affairs director of South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff and Col. Ryan Donald, public affairs director of the United Nations Command (UNC), Combined Forces Command (CFC), and United States Forces Korea (USFK) attend a press briefing of Ulchi Freedom Shield 2025 exercise at the Defense Ministry in Seoul Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (Chung Sung-Jun/Pool Photo via AP)

Col. Lee Sung-jun, left, public affairs director of South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff and Col. Ryan Donald, public affairs director of the United Nations Command (UNC), Combined Forces Command (CFC), and United States Forces Korea (USFK) attend a press briefing of Ulchi Freedom Shield 2025 exercise at the Defense Ministry in Seoul Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (Chung Sung-Jun/Pool Photo via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump asserted on Wednesday that Iran is “negotiating on fumes” and insisted November's midterm elections won't factor in shaping his approach to the nearly three-month-old conflict that's spurred unease across the global economy.

Speaking at the start of a Cabinet meeting at a precarious moment for talks aimed at ending the war, Trump expressed confidence that a deal is near. Over the weekend, he even declared that his administration and Tehran had “largely negotiated” a settlement, but the negotiations were still in flux.

The president is looking for a settlement that will reopen the Strait of Hormuz and provide him a credible argument that Iran’s nuclear capability has been diminished enough to declare victory, winding down a conflict that's been politically unpopular for Republicans.

But as things stand, Trump also risks finding that closure to his war of choice comes with an unsatisfactory ending.

The emerging deal puts off many critical issues to be resolved later and has already exposed the Republican president to fierce criticism — even from some of his own supporters — that Iran's hard-line leaders will emerge from the conflict battered but emboldened. It all comes to a head just as the midterm elections to determine control of Congress come into focus and as Republicans worry that rising costs and fuel prices are darkening the American electorate's mood.

But Trump on Wednesday dismissed the idea that the upcoming elections would carry any weight in shaping his Iran strategy.

“They thought they were gonna outwait me. You know, 'We’ll outwait him. He’s got the midterms,'” Trump said. “I don’t care about the midterms.”

Trump acknowledged there's still work to do, but he spoke with a measure of certainty that the two sides would get there.

“They want very much to make a deal,” Trump said. “So far, they haven’t gotten there. We’re not satisfied with it, but we will be — either that or we’ll have to just finish the job.”

Talks were further complicated after U.S. forces carried out what the Pentagon called “defensive” strikes on missile launch sites and minelaying boats in southern Iran on Monday. The U.S. said it acted with “restraint” in light of the weekslong ceasefire, while Iran decried the action as a sign of “bad faith and unreliability.”

While Trump insists a deal is within reach, there appears to be daylight between the U.S. and Iran on several key issues. The president is also facing scrutiny from Republican allies, including Sens. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Ted Cruz of Texas, who have said the terms seem too favorable to Tehran.

They're balking at aspects of the deal that have emerged publicly that they say too closely resemble the nuclear agreement reached with Iran by Democratic President Barack Obama, which Trump scrapped during his first term.

Under the potential deal, Tehran would agree to give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium — a key Trump demand — in return for sanctions relief. That's according to two regional officials and one senior Trump administration official, all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive negotiations.

One regional official, with direct knowledge of the negotiations, said how Iran would give up the uranium would be subject to further talks during a 60-day period. Some would likely be diluted, while the rest would be transferred to a third country, the official said.

Trump said that he “wouldn’t be comfortable” with either Russia or China taking Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium. The two countries have the closest relations with Tehran, and nuclear analysts have said they could be a potential acceptable third party to the Iranian Republic to take possession of the enriched uranium as part of a potential deal.

Iran has 440.9 kilograms (972 pounds) of uranium that is enriched up to 60% purity, a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90%, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. Iran has not publicly committed to giving up its uranium.

Another key issue unresolved is whether the ceasefire will also cover Israel’s operations against Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militant group in Lebanon. Iran has insisted that Lebanon must be covered by any ceasefire agreement negotiated with the United States.

The administration appears to leave some wiggle room on the Lebanon question. The emerging memorandum of understanding calls for a ceasefire between the U.S. and its allies against Iran and its proxies, such as Hezbollah, but also underscores Israel's right to act against imminent threats and in self-defense.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday announced that the Israeli military is “deepening its operation” in Lebanon. Overnight, Israel's military clashed with the Iran-backed militant Hezbollah group along a strategic river in southern Lebanon as Israeli troops pushed farther north.

Jonathan Conricus, a former spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces, said Israel expects that Iran would quickly move to direct any sanctions relief to restore its military capability and boost proxy groups, including Hezbollah and Hamas in Gaza.

“We’re not done fighting, because the Iranian regime isn’t done,” said Conricus, who is a senior fellow with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a hawkish Washington think tank.

Trump on Wednesday also reinforced his call for a deal to end the Iran war to include a requirement for several additional countries, including Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Pakistan, to join the Abraham Accords, the U.S.-brokered agreements from Trump’s first term aimed at normalizing diplomatic and economic relations with Israel.

“We’re, you know, requesting strongly that they join,” Trump said.

Trump’s optimism that the other Middle Eastern and majority-Muslim countries could soon sign on to the accords might be overly ambitious.

For example, Saudi Arabia, the most significant power in the Arab world and long seen as the biggest prize for the normalization effort, has insisted that establishing a guaranteed path to a Palestinian state remains a precondition. It's something that Israel vehemently opposes.

Trump pushed for the Abraham Accords during a call with leaders of Mideast allies over the weekend.

Barbara Leaf, a retired U.S. ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and senior State Department official during President Joe Biden's Democratic administration, said officials from Gulf countries who were on the call told her that Trump's pitch was greeted by “stunned silence.” A person familiar with the call disputed that characterization and said that some regional allies responded positively to the president’s call to join the accords. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity about the private conversation.

Leaf, a distinguished diplomatic fellow at the Middle East Institute, said that Middle Eastern allies of the United States recognize that Iran will likely use any money from sanctions relief to bolster its military capabilities. Still, they have been supportive of Trump’s efforts to end the conflict.

“They see no other way out,” Leaf said of American allies in the region. “And they see no other way out because of many of these early mistakes that the president and the administration made in conducting the war.”

AP writers Matthew Lee, Michelle L. Price and Darlene Superville in Washington, Bill Barrow in Atlanta, Samy Magdy in Cairo and Melanie Lidman in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump, center right, attends a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room, at the White House, Wednesday, May 27, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

President Donald Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Wednesday, May 27, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

President Donald Trump, next to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, right, speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Wednesday, May 27, 2026, in Washington, as Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, front left, and Vice President JD Vance, front right, look on. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

President Donald Trump, next to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Wednesday, May 27, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

President Donald Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Wednesday, May 27, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

President Donald Trump departs Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Tuesday, May 26, 2026, in Bethesda, Md. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)