GOP lawmaker presses Trump to restore South Korea military drills
What's new: A House Armed Services member warned the shortened exercises could weaken US ties with Seoul after North Korea fired missiles.
A Republican member of Congress is pressing President Donald Trump to restore joint military drills with South Korea after the allies cut short August exercises by six days. Rep. Rich McCormick of Georgia, a combat veteran who sits on the House Armed Services Committee, said he hopes the rollback is temporary and argued Washington should keep Seoul close as a longtime ally. Trump ordered the reduction in a social media post, calling the drills an “inappropriate and hostile” signal to North Korea and pointing to his relationship with Kim Jong Un. North Korea dismissed the move as insignificant and launched short-range ballistic missiles on Aug. 20, underscoring continued tensions on the peninsula.