“The military drills, or war games as I call them, were never even discussed in my mtg w/ Kim Jong Un of NK — FAKE NEWS!” President Donald Trump tweeted about last week’s summit in Vietnam. Foreign Policy Trump says he didn’t discuss with Kim Jong Un an end to military exercises

President Donald Trump said Monday that he did not discuss with North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, a halt to U.S.-South Korea joint military drills, again saying that he believed the costs of the drills are too high.

“The military drills, or war games as I call them, were never even discussed in my mtg w/ Kim Jong Un of NK — FAKE NEWS!” the president tweeted about last week’s summit between the leaders in Hanoi, Vietnam. “I made that decision long ago because it costs the U.S. far too much money to have those ‘games’, especially since we are not reimbursed for the tremendous cost!”


The United States and South Korea announced on Saturday that they were eliminating their large-scale drills and would replace them with smaller exercises. North Korea has long opposed the exercises, claiming they are preparation for an invasion.

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The move was announced several days after talks between Trump and Kim over denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula fell apart.

South Korea’s national defense minister, Jeong Kyeong-doo, and the acting U.S. secretary of Defense, Patrick Shanahan, said in a joint statement that they adapted the training program to reflect their “desire to reduce tension and support our diplomatic efforts to achieve complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in a final, fully verified manner.”

The military drills, known as Foal Eagle and Key Resolve, will be replaced with a training called “Dong Maeng” — or “alliance.” The exercises began Monday and are scheduled to last until March 12.

Trump said on Sunday that he opposed the drills before becoming president.

“The reason I do not want military drills with South Korea is to save hundreds of millions of dollars for the U.S. for which we are not reimbursed,” Trump tweeted. “That was my position long before I became President. Also, reducing tensions with North Korea at this time is a good thing!”