Trump's decision to halt military exercises with South Korea leaves Pentagon, allies nervous

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump announced a halt to joint military exercises with South Korea on Tuesday, raising alarm at the Pentagon, in Congress and among allies that the U.S. might back away from longstanding defense commitments in the region without concrete concessions from long-belligerent North Korea.

Trump unveiled the move at a news conference with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un after their summit in Singapore. He said he also wants to eventually withdraw the 28,500 U.S. troops permanently stationed in the South as a deterrent against North Korea, which until just months ago was threatening Seoul and Washington with nuclear war.

Administration officials said halting the joint exercises is a relatively modest concession that has great symbolic importance to Pyongyang. By helping to build trust between two longtime adversaries, the officials argued, the U.S. action could make it more likely that Kim will move forward on talks aimed at eliminating his nuclear arsenal.

But Trump's seemingly off-hand remarks, without warning to allies South Korea and Japan, marked a potentially sharp shift in U.S. defense posture in East Asia and contradicted decades of statements by American officials that the exercises are defensive only and critical for deterring North Korea.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/trumps-decision-to-halt-military-exercises-with-south-korea-leaves-pentagon-allies-nervous/ar-AAyyBaN?li=BBnb7Kz

So that's what happens when the dotard strikes out on his own without any help from advisors.