President Donald Trump’s unilateral decision to curtail Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) over South Korea’s refusal to join operations against Iran ignores a fundamental strategic reality. Seoul cannot deliver a military contribution that is simultaneously useful to Washington, sustainable in combat and proportionate to the catastrophic economic risks Korea would assume.

Trump said he had asked President Lee Jae Myung to “join us in the denuclearization of the Islamic Republic of Iran” and received a curt “No thanks” reply. But the public record neither confirms Lee used those words nor establishes what Trump requested.

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun told lawmakers on