President Donald Trump instructed the Pentagon on Sunday to scale back the annual joint military exercises with South Korea, saying the ally had declined to assist with U.S. efforts against Iran and emphasizing his personal relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

The Pentagon said the exercises involve roughly 18,000 South Korean personnel and are scheduled to begin on Monday, aiming to improve readiness against North Korean threats and to reinforce the U.S.-South Korea alliance.

The United States military described the drills as part of the Ulchi Freedom Shield program, a series of combined operations designed to maintain regional peace and demonstrate the ironclad commitment of the two nations.

Democratic Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona criticized the decision on social media, calling the reduction of exercises shortsighted and a mistake.

North Korean state media said the drills constituted a rehearsal for an aggressive war and warned of unspecified stern measures against the United States and South Korea.

Trump previously described the exercises as provocative and said they would be halted unless negotiations with North Korea progressed, a stance he reiterated after meeting Kim Jong Un in 2019.

During a Pentagon meeting in May, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth praised South Korea for its commitment to increase defense spending and for assuming primary responsibility for security on the Korean Peninsula.

The exercises had been planned as part of a broader effort to counter recent North Korean ballistic missile launches, which occurred days before the scheduled start of the drills.

The reduction of the drills leaves the future of U.S.-South Korea military coordination uncertain as both sides await further developments in diplomatic talks with North Korea.