Archive · 19 Aug 2026
Kim Yo Jong Dismisses Trump’s Reduced US-South Korea Drills
The United States and South Korea decided to make their yearly military exercises shorter.
President Donald Trump said the exercises cost too much and might make North Korea feel threatened.
He also said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had answered his attempts to contact him.
Kim Jong Un’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, said she did not know about any such communication.
She called the shorter exercises uninteresting to North Korea.
At the same time, she said Trump and Kim Jong Un have an excellent relationship.
Trump and Kim previously met to discuss North Korea’s nuclear weapons.
Those talks ended without an agreement, and new discussions are now being discussed again.
Kim Yo Jong called Washington’s decision to shorten joint US-South Korea military exercises “completely uninteresting.”
The exercises will end about a week earlier than originally planned following an order from Donald Trump.
Trump said Kim Jong Un had responded to his efforts to restore contact, but Kim Yo Jong said she knew nothing about such communication.
Kim Yo Jong nevertheless described the relationship between Trump and Kim Jong Un as “excellent.”
Trump has said the drills are costly and send an inappropriate, hostile signal, while North Korea remains under sanctions over its nuclear and missile programs.
- Who
- Kim Yo Jong, Donald Trump, and Kim Jong Un are the central figures; the United States and South Korea are conducting the exercises.
- What
- The United States and South Korea are ending their annual joint military exercises about a week early, while North Korea comments on the decision and alleged Trump-Kim communication.
- When
- Kim Yo Jong made the remarks on Wednesday; the exercise change was announced after Trump’s Sunday order, and Trump discussed the reported response on Monday.
- Where
- The military exercises involve the United States and South Korea; the broader diplomatic issue concerns Washington and Pyongyang.
- Why
- Trump said the exercises are costly and send an inappropriate, hostile signal to North Korea; Kim Yo Jong said North Korea found their reduction uninteresting.
North Korean View
U.S. Rationale
Meaning of reducing the drills
North Korean View
Kim Yo Jong said North Korea considered the decision completely uninteresting and did not view it as significant enough to comment on.
U.S. Rationale
Trump said the exercises are costly and send an inappropriate, hostile signal to a country he described as unthreatening and respectful.
Claims of direct communication
North Korean View
Kim Yo Jong said she was unaware of any communication between Kim Jong Un and Trump, creating a discrepancy with Trump’s public comments.
U.S. Rationale
Trump said Kim Jong Un had responded to his attempts to re-establish contact, but he provided no details.
Future relationship
North Korean View
Kim Yo Jong described the relationship between her brother and Trump as excellent, while previously warning that efforts to use it to end North Korea’s nuclear program would be mocked.
U.S. Rationale
Trump has continued to praise his personal relationship with Kim and signalled interest in reviving direct diplomacy.
- Exercise change
- The annual US-South Korea military exercises will end about one week earlier than planned.
- North Korean reaction
- Kim Yo Jong said the reduction was “completely uninteresting” and not worth commenting on.
- Trump’s communication claim
- Trump said Kim Jong Un had responded to his efforts to re-establish contact.
- Kim Yo Jong’s account
- She said she was completely unaware of communication between her brother and Trump.
- Relationship description
- Kim Yo Jong described the relationship between Trump and Kim Jong Un as “excellent.”
- Trump’s rationale
- Trump said the drills are costly and send an inappropriate and hostile signal to North Korea.
- Previous diplomacy
- Trump and Kim held summits in Singapore in 2018 and Hanoi in 2019, but negotiations broke down over North Korea’s nuclear program.