Trump shrinks South Korea war games, citing ‘very good relationship’ with Kim Jong Un

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Trump orders reduction of military exercises with South Korea ‘based on my very good relationship with Kim Jong Un’

President Trump ordered Secretary of War Pete Hegseth “to substantially reduce the Joint Military Exercises” with South Korea the day before they were set to begin, “based on my very good relationship with Kim Jong Un, of North Korea,” he said in a post on Truth Social. Trump also cited the cost of the exercises and the fact that they “send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile” to North Korea. He also cited South Korea’s reluctance to assist the U.S. in its war with Iran.

The U.S.S. George Washington is moving from the Pacific to the Middle East to replace the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln, Axios reported. That leaves the Pacific with no U.S. aircraft carriers. The Lincoln has been at sea for eight straight months, and morale aboard the ship is suffering, CNBC reported. 

Context: Iranian leaders sense that the U.S. is growing weary of the war and are planning to escalate the conflict, some intel suggests. 

Iran’s oil is trapped while rivals’ exports from the Persian Gulf are poised to surge, but Tehran could do whatever it takes to break the chokehold - Jason Ma

Stock markets are broadly up worldwide

S&P 500 futures were up 0.15% this morning. The index closed down 0.17% on Friday. 

In Europe, the Stoxx 600 was up 0.10% in early trading and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was up 0.08% before lunch.

Asia: South Korea’s KOSPI was up 2.42%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 0.74%. India’s Nifty 50 was down 0.11%. China’s CSI 300 was up 1.61%. 

Brent crude was $89 per barrel this morning.

Bitcoin was at........

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