President Trump is being criticized for his commander-in-chief order to scale back U.S. military involvement in Ulchi Freedom Shield, an annual 11-day military drill in South Korea.
In a Truth Social post, Trump wrote it is “too late” to cancel the drill itself but ordered Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to reduce U.S. involvement.
The order seemed to be an olive branch to North Korea, since the U.S. president described his “really good relationship” with dictator Kim Jong-Un. That comment made it appear to some Trump was choosing a murderous tyrant over a strong U.S. ally, and it didn't help when he later praised Kim from the Oval Office.
"Kim Jong-un has always treated me with great respect,” Trump said. “I understand him. He understands me.”
Attempting to explain the diplomatic controversy, Scott Uehliger told American Family Radio the U.S. president has legitimate concerns beginning with South Korea’s president, Lee Jae Myung. The current president took office in June 2025 and leads the Democratic Party of Korea, or DPK, which is now pursuing close diplomatic relations with China.
"We want to usher in a new phase in the development of South Korea-China relations," President Myung, when he visited China in January, told reporters.
Not only is the DPK close to China, Uehlinger told show host Jenna Ellis, there are allegations the DPK has been “infiltrated” by the Chinese Communist Party to bring it even closer to China.
“They're not supporting us because a lot of them are pseudo-communists,” Uehlinger explained. “Trump knows this, and it hasn't really been dealt with.”
Comparing the U.S.-South Korea situation to the current news headlines, Ellis said she wasn’t surprised the U.S. news media is missing the real story behind Trump's actions.
“They tend to just go where they can criticize Trump for anything rather than following the strategy,” she complained.
Even the odd-looking praise for Kim and North Korea, Uehlinger explained, is a clever strategy by Trump. The goal is to push South Korea by seeming to praise its neighbor and enemy.
“It's classic misdirection,” Uehlinger advised. “He’s being very diplomatically astute. He's using North Korea as the red herring.”
Looking around the region, the former CIA officer said U.S. allies Japan and the Philippines also know about South Korea’s worrisome ties to the Chinese Communist Party. Trump’s public criticism of South Korea demonstrates to them he knows, too, and is acting on their behalf to push back on South Korea.
Uehlinger said the South Korea-China relationship is a different relationship than U.S.-China diplomacy. Both the U.S. and South Korea are major trading partners with China, he said, but the U.S. and its allies in the Pacific are alarmed at how quickly President Myung and his government are becoming friendly with the CCP.
"It's a very slowly evolving situation, but Trump has let it go on for about a year," he advised.
