▲ U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson (L) leaves the defense ministry headquarters in Yongsan, Seoul, on Aug. 18, 2026, after an unannounced visit to the ministry for a meeting with Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back. (Yonhap)

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details from 6th para; CHANGES photo; ADDS byline)

By Kim Seung-yeon

SEOUL, Aug. 18 (Yonhap) -- U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson visited the defense ministry Tuesday for a meeting with Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back, after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the military to scale down a regular combined exercise with South Korea.

Brunson was spotted by some reporters entering the ministry headquarters in Yongsan in central Seoul and later leaving the place.

When asked by reporters about the purpose of his visit, Brunson declined to comment, only indicating that he came to meet with Ahn.

Trump's call coincided with the start of the allies' Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise on Monday (Seoul time), scheduled for an 11-day run through Aug. 27. The drills are largely aimed at staging drills for contingencies against North Korea.

Trump said he had ordered the scaling down of the exercise, citing a cost burden and his good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

The U.S. Department of War is "actively" working on executing Trump's directive on the allies' military exercises, a Pentagon official said Monday (U.S. time) in an updated statement that differed from an earlier response that it had no changes to its position.

While Seoul and Washington have yet to announce any modification to the ongoing or future exercises, signs of a possible downsizing of the current drills appear to have taken place to a certain extent following Trump's instructions.

The allies have reportedly transferred the Combined Forces Command (CFC) post from CP Tango, a wartime bunker in Seongnam, south of Seoul, to Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, the main U.S. base 53 kilometers south of the capital.

Camp Humphreys serves as the CFC's peacetime headquarters. Shifting the command post there suggests a potential readjustment in the scope of the combined exercise that simulates wartime scenarios.

Seoul is said to have not received any official request from the U.S. side regarding a scale-back of the drills.

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