00:00U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered the Pentagon to reduce joint military exercises with South Korea
00:06due to the cost of the drills and Seoul's refusal to take part in actions against Iran.
00:13Trump also says the drills sent a hostile message to North Korea,
00:17which he described as unthreatening and respectful during his presidency.
00:22He made the comments just hours before the annual drills were due to begin,
00:27with troops already deployed and preparations complete.
00:33Trump pointed to his strong relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un
00:37and suggested the exercises could undermine diplomatic efforts with Pyongyang.
00:41South Korea said it was reviewing Trump's comments,
00:44adding that it hoped his relationship with Kim could help bring the two sides back to meaningful talks.
00:50The annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises are scheduled to run for 10 days from August 17th,
00:55with about 18-thousand South Korean military personnel expected to participate.
01:00The drills include operations responding to drone attacks, GPS disruption and cyber attacks.
01:06Trump has long wanted to reduce military drills with South Korea.
01:09He also disagreed with Seoul over the cost and role of 28,500 American troops stationed there.
01:16North Korea regularly condemns the joint exercises as preparations for an invasion.
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