In an Aug. 16 Truth Social post, U.S. President Donald Trump called the ongoing U.S.-South Korea Ulchi Freedom Shield military exercise expensive and hostile toward an "unthreatening and respectful" North Korea, instructing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to "substantially reduce" the exercise. In the same post, Trump noted that South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's response to Trump's request for help with the denuclearization of Iran was, "No thanks!"