Trump Must End U.S.–Led South Korea Joint Military Exercises: Global Support Needed for President Lee Jae Myung's Peace Vision on the Korean Peninsula (이재명 대통령의 한반도 평화 메시지, 국제적 연대 필요)
President Lee Urges Halt to U.S.–ROK Joint Military Exercises Amid Rising Regional Tensions
“If peace between North and South Korea is firmly established, it is desirable not to conduct U.S.–ROK military exercises.” — President Lee Jae Myung
Stop U.S.–led South Korea Joint Military Exercises
Here in the U.S., we are preparing for the upcoming Thanksgiving break. It’s great that we get to have a much-needed break and spend time with our loved ones—but not on the Korean Peninsula, where the U.S. leads around-the-clock intentionally destabilizing US-led war games.
That’s why I’m writing this blog today: no thanks to U.S.-led war games in Korea.
What also motivated me to write is President Lee’s latest appeal. For the first time since his inauguration on June 4, President Lee directly mentioned the possibility of suspending or reducing US–ROK joint military exercises. I am afraid that his message will fall on deaf ears and be sanctioned or silenced by the media, his hawkish foreign policy team, a timid ruling party, and, most importantly, Washington. That is why I decided to draft a quick appeal today.
During his in-flight briefing aboard Air Force One while traveling to Türkiye on November 23, President Lee said, “...wouldn’t it make sense to stop expensive joint military drills…?”
President Lee provided the following reasons:
1. Cost and Waste
President Lee questioned the rationale for the joint military exercises by quoting President Trump’s own wording in 2018:
“I think it’s very provocative…We will be stopping the war games… which will save us a tremendous amount of money.”
Lee added that the joint military exercises are indeed costly, and “President Donald Trump does not particularly like them” because of the expense. According to a U.S. Army budget analysis, canceling certain exercises in 2018 reportedly saved the U.S. around $14 million.
2. Precedent
President Lee also pointed out a recent precedent for halting the joint war games. Following the June 2018 Singapore U.S.–North Korea summit, Trump referred to the joint exercises as “war games,” and at that time, South Korea and the United States did halt their halt their August joint exercises to support U.S.–North Korea dialogue.
3. Provocation and Fear
President Lee criticized the former Park Geun-hye and Yoon Suk-yeol administrations, noting that talking about reunification as a “jackpot” made North Korea fear a possible invasion, leading it to build barbed-wire fences and walls. Sending 18 drones to North Korea only heightened tensions: ““[Yoon] treated the national interests of unification and security as objects of political strategy, and brought all [diplomatic relations] to ruin””. Regarding so-called “absorption unification,” President Lee rejected the idea, saying, “What is the point of absorbing them?” and questioning how the country would bear the enormous conflicts and costs that such a process would cause.
4. A Jumpstart for Diplomacy
Further, President Lee suggested that North Korea could use the suspension of joint military drills as a bargaining chip for returning to talks, as it has long demanded the halt of what it considers hostile acts, including joint exercises, as conditions for dialogue with the United States.
“If a peace regime between the North and the South is firmly established, it would be desirable not to conduct (the joint exercises).”
Advocating inter-Korean dialogue can serve as an interim step toward a permanent suspension of the joint war games. President Lee argued for dialogue and rapprochement as a means of reducing or postponing the exercises, noting that “what North Korea is most sensitive about is the joint U.S.–ROK military exercises.”
I have written many times about my my criticism criticisms and even contradictions regarding Lee’s policies, especially the absence of a frank acknowledgment of Washington’s central role in provoking tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
“For genuine peace on the Korean Peninsula, South Korea must break free from the U.S. yoke and chart an independent path—one that rejects endless militarization in favor of sovereignty, dialogue, and trust.
Koreans who endured the bitter cold, snow, and freezing winds to resist Yoon’s war-mongering regime—a regime that capitulated to Washington’s demands, staged a doomed insurrection, and was prepared to kill hundreds of citizens and stuff them into body bags—must now wake up and ask: Who authored the war-mongering first defense budget of the Lee Jae Myung administration?
With South Korea’s GDP growth projected at a mere 0.7% in 2025, can the country possibly bear the largest offensive defense budget, submitted under pressure from Washington’s military-industrial complex and Trump? Can a nation, suffering the highest suicide rate among the 38 OECD countries due to harsh neoliberal economic pressures, afford to pay for a massive military buildup aimed at a U.S.-led war against China? As a citizen, I cannot help but wonder which is more shameful: seeing a government born from the sacrifices of millions of Koreans who led the Candlelight Revolution betray the people’s trust, or witnessing Yoon Suk-yeol, the ring leader of insurrection, defy constitutional order in prison while protesting in his underwear. Yet the only source of hope lies in the history of the Korean people, who have always resisted injustice. I recall once again the moments of the Revolution of Light last winter.”
That being said, President Lee’s latest message is important and deserves action.
Without directly saying so, he is, in my view, seeking support for his message. Indeed, it is significant that he mentioned the joint military exercises, signaling a break from his ostensibly hawkish national security team.
President Lee, with his historic legitimacy from stopping Yoon’s martial law and his current approval rating of over 60%, must demonstrate even firmer leadership.
Chung-in Moon, former foreign policy advisor to President Moon Jae-in, echoes this view:
“Ultimately, the Korean government needs to play a leading role in ending hostility in South–North relations and in building a win-win, symbiotic regional order that transcends geopolitical alignment.”
While, as a Korean, I believe that Koreans should not ask for permission from Washington but instead exercise their sovereign right to chart their own course in national security, the reality is that because the United States has wartime Operational Control Authority (OPCON) of the Korean military, stopping the joint military exercises ultimately falls to the United States.
For instance, as journalist and activist K.J. Noh notes, U.S. control over Korea’s military for 73 years effectively limits South Korean sovereignty. The U.S. oversees 600,000+ frontline troops, 3.1 million reservists, and all military infrastructure, forming a ‘U.S. imperial force’ and ‘threat projection platform’ on the Korean Peninsula rather than bolstering South Korea’s defense.
This is why American peace activists have a critical role to play.
Call to Action:
For the first time since his inauguration, South Korean President Lee stated his view on the need to halt the U.S.–ROK joint military exercises. In times when leaders in Northeast Asia are war hawks, such as the Japanese prime minister, President Lee’s leadership must be taken seriously, supported, and empowered. We must amplify his message and demand action from the Trump administration.
Trump has repeated his call for talks with North Korea — but North Korea has not responded. Clearly, actions speak louder than words.
U.S. peace activists and organizations must urgently demand that the Trump administration stop U.S.–led joint military exercises with South Korea.
Simone’s experimental Thanksgiving Korean rice dish: cooked with beets, pistachios, and almonds for a work potluck :).
Happy Thanksgiving to you all!