GOP lawmaker pushes Trump to restore South Korea military drills
What's new: North Korea fired short-range ballistic missiles a day before the allies ended the exercise six days early.
A Republican member of the House Armed Services Committee urged President Donald Trump to restore full joint military drills with South Korea after Washington and Seoul cut short their August exercise. Rep. Rich McCormick of Georgia said he hoped the reduction was temporary and argued the US should keep a longtime ally close for force projection and regional security. Trump had called the drills an "inappropriate and hostile" signal to North Korea and suggested frustration that South Korea had declined to help with the Iran war he started in February. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the allies agreed to end the exercise on Aug. 21, six days earlier than planned. North Korea then fired a barrage of short-range ballistic missiles on Aug. 20.