On Sunday, President Trump announced on social media that he would “substantially reduce” the joint military exercises between the U.S. and South Korea. AFSC supports an end to military escalation on the Korean Peninsula and diplomatic engagement between the U.S. and North Korea to end the 73-year-long unended war on the Korean Peninsula.
The U.S. and South Korea have held joint military exercises for decades since the end of the Korean War. These military exercises maintain a cycle of military escalation on the peninsula. South Korean authorities have noted that these particular Ulchi Freedom Shield joint military exercises would proceed as scheduled on Aug. 17. Regardless of the outcome for these particular exercises, we are calling for an end to escalation and a return to diplomacy.
In response to Trump’s announcement, the South Korean presidential office stated that it “hopes that the friendly relationship between the leaders of the United States and North Korea will lead to meaningful US-North Korea dialogue and the start of discussions aimed at advancing peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.”
This has followed the South Korean president Lee Jae Myung’s long-standing position of pursuing peace and diplomacy with North Korea. On Aug. 15, Liberation Day—a holiday in both South and North Korea celebrating an end to Japanese colonial rule—President Lee highlighted his desire to end hostilities on the Korean Peninsula, saying, “Let us put down our intentions to threaten each other and begin discussions to end the long-running war as the directly involved parties”. President Lee has laid out a policy of peaceful coexistence with North Korea. The U.S. should take this as an opportunity to work with our ally in the South and reengage a peace process on the Korean Peninsula.
“Quakers have worked for peace on the Korean Peninsula since the Korean War, and in that time we have seen divided Korean families grow old waiting for it to end. Pulling back from these military exercises opens a small door. Whether anything comes from it depends on what this administration does next. We are advocating for the hard work of sitting down to talk,” said Austin Headrick, Public Education and Advocacy Coordinator at the American Friends Service Committee.
The U.S. should make the first move towards diplomacy
A diplomatic process to end the 73 years of conflict between the U.S. and North Korea should begin with a proactive measure by the U.S. to reduce tension and create reciprocal response by North Korea. As a party to the 1953 armistice and the largest military in the world, the U.S. has a responsibility to re-initiate diplomatic engagement with North Korea. The U.S. public supports this. 2026 public opinion polling shows that U.S public supports both ending the war (55%) and diplomatic engagement between the U.S. and North Korea (63%). Substantially reducing military exercises is a first step.
Military exercises increase hostility
The joint military exercises have fueled a cycle of military escalation on the Korean Peninsula. Combined Forces Command spokesperson Colonel Ryan Donald said this year’s joint military exercises would simulate combat against North Korean troops. North Korea views exercises of this kind as rehearsal for invasion and has repeatedly responded with its own weapons testing. Reducing joint exercises pauses the cycle of escalation and creates an opportunity for the U.S. to engage in diplomacy.
There is a limited window of opportunity for engagement
U.S.-North Korea relations have been frozen since the failure of 2018-19 summits between the two countries' leaders. President Trump’s existing relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and continued interest in engaging with North Korea creates a unique window for diplomatic engagement. Kim said in a September 2025 speech that North Korea would sit down with the U.S. if Washington sets aside denuclearization as the condition for talks and accepts peaceful coexistence. Proactive steps by the U.S. creates an incentive for North Korea to return to the diplomatic table. Preventing escalating conflict on the Korean Peninsula, establishing peaceful coexistence, and ending seven decades of war requires getting back to the table with North Korea. Failing to take proactive steps and engage with this window of opportunity could leave the U.S. in an extended period of diplomatic freeze with North Korea like the 38-year absence of talks between 1954 and 1992. Peace cannot wait for another generation.
“For over 70 years, the ongoing Korean War and escalating tensions have undermined security for 80 million people living on the Korean Peninsula and millions more throughout the Pacific. In the past, the United States has canceled and reduced joint military exercises to support efforts for dialogue and diplomacy. As the nation that is still at war with North Korea, the United States must act now to end its longest war and pursue peace, engagement, and diplomacy,” said Cathi Choi, Women Cross DMZ Executive Director.
We urge Congress and the administration to take good faith steps to reduce hostilities on the Korean Peninsula and engage in a diplomatic process with North Korea and South Korea to bring an end to the seven decades of unended war on the Korean peninsula.
Support peace on the Korean Peninsula by urging your member of Congress to support H.R. 1841 Peace on the Korean Peninsula Act.
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The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) promotes a world free of violence, inequality, and oppression. Guided by the Quaker belief in the divine light within each person, we nurture the seeds of change and the respect for human life to fundamentally transform our societies and institutions. We work with people and partners worldwide, of all faiths and backgrounds, to meet urgent community needs, challenge injustice, and build peace.