Kim Jong Un told Trump “no thanks,” claiming his request for help from Iran backfired; even reduced military drills with South Korea to maintain friendship

Washington/Seoul: US President Donald Trump has consistently touted his “very good relationship” with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Now, a recent statement by Trump has sparked a new debate about this relationship. Trump claimed that he had asked the South Korean president to support the US effort to denuclearize Iran, but received the response, “No thanks!” Interestingly, Trump cited this disagreement as one of his reasons for reducing the scope of US military exercises with South Korea. He stated that joint US-South Korean military exercises are costly and send an “unfair and hostile” message to North Korea. Trump instructed his Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, to “significantly” reduce these exercises.

Tough on Seoul for Friendship with Kim

Trump stated in a social media post that his relationship with Kim Jong Un has been good, and that during his presidency, North Korea showed him respect rather than threats. Based on this logic, he described the military exercises with South Korea as a wrong signal to North Korea.The annual Ulchi Freedom Shield military exercise between the US and South Korea was scheduled to begin on August 17. Following Trump’s orders, its scope was reduced and the exercise was later concluded six days ahead of schedule.This clearly reflects a major shift in Trump’s policy—on the one hand, reducing military activities with longtime US ally South Korea, while on the other, attempting to advance dialogue and personal relations with North Korea.

Sought help on Iran, received a blunt response

Trump also mentioned South Korea’s stance on Iran in his post. He said he had asked Seoul if it would be willing to join the US effort to “denuclearize” Iran. According to Trump, the response was “No thanks!”Trump later elaborated on the conversation, saying that the US maintains approximately 39,000 troops to protect South Korea, and he hoped Seoul would cooperate with the US campaign against Iran. He questioned why the US should spend so much on South Korea’s security if it wouldn’t support such a campaign.However, it would be inaccurate to attribute this directly to Kim Jong Un’s response to Trump. According to Trump, the “no thanks” response came from the South Korean president, not Kim Jong Un himself. This distinction is crucial to understanding the entire incident.

But Kim Jong Un didn’t pay much attention to Trump’s move either.

Trump reduced military exercises to appease Kim, but Pyongyang’s response was not as warm as the US president had hoped. Kim Jong Un’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, stated that the change in military exercises does not change North Korea’s stance and that the exercises remain “provocative.” She also showed no interest in commenting on the move.Trump, in other words, reduced military exercises with Seoul to improve relations with Kim, but Pyongyang did not accept this as a major concession.

Questions Raised About the US-South Korea Alliance

Trump’s decision has also raised concerns among longtime US allies. South Korea has stated that it will continue its joint defense and military coordination with the US. However, the US President’s move raises questions about whether Washington is increasing pressure on its traditional allies for potential dialogue with North Korea.One cause of concern for experts is that US-South Korea military exercises are not merely maneuvers but are considered a key part of the US strategy to deter North Korea. Therefore, their sudden reduction could raise questions about US commitment in Asia.How strong is the “friendship” between Kim and Trump?Trump and Kim Jong Un met three times between 2018 and 2019. However, talks on denuclearization and sanctions relief failed to reach a concrete agreement. Now, Trump is exp ressing his desire to engage with Kim again and has even raised the possibility of meeting him this year.But current developments paint a slightly different picture. Trump is taking steps to improve relations with Kim, while North Korea has yet to make any significant concessions. On the contrary, Pyongyang has even criticized the reduction in US-South Korea military exercises as insufficient.Therefore, it would not be factually accurate to say that “Kim said ‘No thanks’ to Trump.” In fact, “No thanks” was the South Korean president’s reported response. The message from Kim was different—despite the reduction in US military exercises, Pyongyang did not consider it sufficient. This is the most important diplomatic aspect of this entire episode.