U.S. President Donald Trump’s Sunday order to “substantially reduce” U.S.-South Korean military exercises has exposed an alliance thick on hardware but thin on trust, strengthening Seoul’s case for the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) as insurance against sudden U.S. policy shifts.

THIN ON TRUST

Trump issued the order hours before the allies began the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise, citing the cost of the drills, his “very good relationship” with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korea’s alleged refusal to join the “denuclearization” of Iran.

He acknowledged that the cancellation of the exercise had become impractical