U.S. military vehicles are covered with tarpaulin sheets at a camp of the U.S. Eighth Army in Dongducheon, north of Seoul, on Aug. 18, 2026. U.S. President Donald Trump said in a social media post on Aug. 16 that he has instructed the Pentagon to "substantially" reduce joint South Korea-U.S. military exercises, in what appears to be a conciliatory gesture toward North Korea. The post came as Seoul and Washington kicked off their annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise the previous day, which Pyongyang has long decried as rehearsals for war. (Yonhap)
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