Moon Seong Mook, a former South Korean military official, said Trump's comments on the drills confirmed what many in South Korea had feared all along — that North Korea would attempt to drive a wedge between Washington and Seoul and gain substantial concessions from an unconventional US president who thinks much less of the traditional alliance than his predecessors. The declaration -- one that goes to the heart of the security of US allies and the United States' western defense perimeter -- raised concerns that Trump had made a significant concession at his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un without getting anything solid in return, particularly as he raised the prospect of pulling troops out of South Korea altogether. The US has stationed combat troops in South Korea since the end of the 1950-53 war and has used them in a variety of large-scale drills designed to sharpen skills and test troops' ability to operate effectively with their South Korean partners. "We have, right now, 32,000 soldiers in South Korea, and I'd like to be able to bring them back home," Trump said, adding that such a move isn't part of the equation right now.
After the summit, President Trump says that the U.S. will halt joint military exercises with South Korea.