Donald Trump says South Korea refused to help US with Iran: "you're not going to help us"
“I said, ‘Well, wait a minute, we have 39,000 soldiers over there guarding you from Kim Jong Un, your next-door neighbour, and you're not going to help us on a very easy military operation in Iran? That's strange,’”
Reported August 18, 2026 by deccanchronicle.com. Checked word for word against that report.
President Trump said South Korean President Lee Jae Myung turned down his request for help in a US military operation against Iran. According to Trump, he asked whether Seoul was willing to assist, while saying the United States did not need help, and Lee declined because South Korea did not want involvement in the Iran conflict. Trump then questioned the value of keeping about 39,000 American troops in South Korea to guard against North Korea if Seoul would not support Washington. South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported that Seoul is consulting with the US on possible practical and military contributions to an Iran ceasefire and freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. Separately, Trump told Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to substantially reduce joint military drills with South Korea, which he described as expensive and unnecessarily hostile toward North Korea.
- deccanchronicle.com ↗︎18 AUG 2026