South Korea and US agree to shorten military drills, requests Washington

South Korea announced on Wednesday that its military and the U.S. Army had agreed to shorten the duration of their joint military exercises at the request of the United States.

The South Korean military said in a statement that the ongoing drills with the United States would end next Friday, rather than on August 27 as previously scheduled.

The statement added that an agreement was also reached to reduce the scale of some joint field exercises.

U.S. President Donald Trump had ordered a reduction in the size of the exercises just before they were set to begin on Monday.

Trump cited what he described as a good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and rejected South Korea’s participation in a U.S. war against Iran.