Republicans Senator Thom Tillis said the decision allows North Korea to provide more support to Russia in Ukraine. President Donald Trump is facing pushback over his decision to scale back joint military exercises between America The United States and South Korea South, with some Democrats accusing him of abandoning Washington's allies. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Service Committee, called the decision “absurd,” and said it sent a message that “America's commitment is negotiable.”

“Chinaand Russia witnessed how easily this president abandonedAmerica's allies and they will remember that when they test us again,”Reed said in a statement onMonday. Trump announced on Sun that he had ordered the Pentagon to “significantly scale back” joint exercises with SouthKoreanforces. He stated that the decision was based on his “excellent relationship” with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, as well as Seoul's refusal to join the US-Israel war against Iran.

“I recently asked the President of South Korea Korea if they would like to join us in denuclearizing the Islamic Republic of Iran Iran, and they said, 'No, thank you!'” Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform. The US President often describes the war with Iran as a denuclearization effort, but Tehran says it does not have nuclear weapons. The war exercises with South Korea are part of a decades-long defense partnership between the two countries, which includes the Mutual Defense Treaty of1953 that effectively placed Seoul under Washington's security umbrella.

In the fact sheet, the US State Department describes the strategic partnership with South Korea as “a key to security and stability in the Indo-Pacific.” “Decisionsregarding joint exercises must be taken jointly – and not announced unilaterally via social media,” Kim wrote in

Congressman Pramila Jayapal called Trump's decision “dangerous” for regional stability

“So – the would-be authoritarian ruler of the US has decided to abandon democracy in South Korea Korea in favor of the authoritarian rule in North Korea Korea that he so admires?” Jayapal wrote in a social media post. Thisnew policycomes as the US shifts away from focusing on theAsia-Pacific region – a doctrine informally referred to as the “pivot toAsia” – amid strategic competition withChina.