Inside the tension that drove Trump’s South Korea alliance from ‘historic new era’ to military pullback

Donald Trump is scaling back major joint military exercises with South Korea after Seoul declined to support U.S. operations against Iran. This pullback marks a sharp contradiction to recent public praise regarding the allies entering a "historic new era" of cooperation. The move stems from Trump’s frustration over slow investment progress and his efforts to pressure South Korea into greater burden-sharing while offering incentives for continued diplomacy with North Korea.