President Donald Trump dropped a political bombshell on the Korean peninsula this week.

But security officials say the president’s threats to curtail a major military exercise with South Korea will do little to undermine the detente between Seoul and Pyongyang.

Trump’s declaration Sunday that he would instruct the Pentagon to cut back on annual drills sent Seoul’s leaders scrambling to repair the damage. But the president appears more focused on pushing for investment from the country than trying to upend defenses against North Korea’s nuclear threat. And that means security on the world’s most militarized border hasn’t significantly changed.

The U.S. has more than 28,000 troops stationed on the peninsula, along with thick layers of air defenses. It has worked hand in glove with the Korean military for decades, a powerful joint force that works closely at every level. The border between a nuclear-armed North Korea and the U.S. ally to its south is a case study in mutually assured destruction. And top commanders in Seoul and Washington remain in tight contact.

“I don’t think this is cataclysmic,” said Sydney Seiler, former national intelligence officer for North Korea at the National Intelligence Council.

Defense officials were tight-lipped about what Trump’s announcement would mean in terms of concrete changes to military exercises. The Pentagon would only say that it is “is actively working on executing the commander-in-chief’s directive.”

Trump’s order, and his praise of dictator North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s “unthreatening and respectful” behavior, came days after the secretive nation launched its second ballistic missile test in a week. It flew over 430 miles before landing just outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone.

Some American lawmakers said the optics were horrible, particularly Trump’s seeming desire to appease a totalitarian regime.

“Kim Jong Un has won a propaganda victory and South Korea, one of our strongest allies, has been punished for no reason beyond Trump’s ego,” said Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee. “China and Russia are watching how easily this president abandons America’s allies, and they will remember it the next time they test us.”

The order affects a major exercise, Ulchi Freedom Shield, a staple of the alliance since it was first held in 1976. The drills this year were scheduled to begin Monday and encompass 14 different exercises over 11 days, ranging from cyber warfare to defending against drone attacks and GPS jamming. Officials are especially worried that North Korea received Russian technologies and know-how about electronic jamming after it sent tens of thousands of troops to help Russia’s war against Ukraine.

“The alliance will manage through, [although] this is clearly a rough patch,” said Victor Cha, a former National Security Council official during the George W. Bush administration and now Korea chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Trump’s criticism of South Korea is particularly surprising because it’s a departure from comments by top Pentagon officials, who have repeatedly praised Seoul for increasing defense spending.

Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby called South Korea “a model ally” in a January speech in Seoul, and lauded its commitment to the alliance. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also praised the relationship several times this year, including when his South Korean counterpart visited the Pentagon in May.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday sought to soothe concerns over a rift. He said in a Cabinet meeting that “a strong alliance makes the foundation of security stronger, and strengthening our own capabilities increases our value and necessity as an ally.”

Many officials remain puzzled about why Trump would abruptly curtail an annual exercise that has taken place reliably for 50 years. There’s some precedent. He had railed against expensive exercises in South Korea during his first term and the Pentagon did scale back some large joint operations. But Ulchi Freedom Shield is a cornerstone of the military-to-military relationship.

The effort — a combination of a tabletop, virtual event and physical exercises — will continue in some form. But U.S. officials indicated that military leadership is trying to find ways to modify the event to meet the president’s demands. And the announcement underscores that American support remains at the whim of an unpredictable president.

Some of the president’s motivation is likely financial. South Korea pledged last year to invest $350 billion in the U.S., but Trump officials believe its government is slow-walking its commitment, POLITICO has reported.

“The thing about Trump is it’s all very transactional,” said Cha. “So if they announce a first tranche of investments, he’ll be fine, right?”

But Asian allies are closely watching whether the distancing from traditional backers will continue, particularly movement of some critical American military assets out of the Pacific region. The USS George Washington aircraft carrier left port in Tokyo this month and is heading west. It will presumably go to the Middle East and replace the beleaguered USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, which is on the ninth month of an extended deployment.

The Pentagon relocated some elements of the THAAD missile defense system earlier this year from South Korea as part of a wider shift to the Middle East.

Lawmakers are also watching warily. Congress voted last year to restrict the Pentagon from reducing troop levels on the Korean peninsula below 28,500 unless the Pentagon certifies doing so is in the national interest and conducted after consultation with South Korea and other allies.

Lawmakers appear poised to extend those restrictions again in the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act.

“Reduced training hurts American preparedness too,” said Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.). “If we have moral clarity, then we’d treat [South Korea] as our ally and know North Korea is a dictatorship and slave labor state. … The president is wrong here.”

Conor O’Brien and Leo Shane contributed to this report.

The Army is defending an Arlington National Cemetery official involved in an incident with the Trump campaign this week at the national memorial, saying the woman was “abruptly pushed aside” and “unfairly attacked” by the Trump staffers and its surrogates.

The unidentified female staff member has declined to press charges due to concern over retaliation, and the Army, which runs national cemeteries, said in a statement Thursday morning that it considers the matter closed.

The Monday incident unfolded as former President Donald Trump attended a memorial service at the cemetery with families of two service members killed during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Army officials say they fully informed the Trump team about a federal law prohibiting the filming of partisan political advertisements at national cemeteries, and when a Trump photographer attempted to accompany the former president to the grave sites, the Army official attempted to stop them only to be pushed aside.

In a statement on Thursday, the Army said the Trump campaign “were made aware of federal laws, Army regulations and DoD policies, which clearly prohibit political activities on cemetery grounds.”

On Wednesday, the Trump campaign seemingly flouted that law, releasing a TikTok video of his Arlington visit, with a Trump voice-over blaming President Joe Biden for the service members’ deaths.

A Pentagon official who was granted anonymity to discuss a sensitive subject said the department is not taking any legal action against the Trump campaign at this time.

In the statement, an Army spokesperson said the employee, despite being “abruptly pushed aside … acted with professionalism and avoided further disruption.”

After news of the incident broke, Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung disparaged the employee as someone “clearly suffering from a mental health episode.”

The Army spokesperson said Thursday that “it is also unfortunate that the ANC employee and her professionalism has been unfairly attacked.”

Democrats on Capitol Hill quickly condemned Trump's visit as a politicization of Arlington and fallen service members.

"Can't believe this needs to be said: You don't defile sacred ground for Americans who gave their all, you don't flout the law and rules at Arlington National Cemetery to score a photo op," Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.), a former Navy officer, wrote on social media. "Donald Trump's disrespect for our war dead & the law is a disgrace."

Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), a former Army officer, similarly called the Trump campaign's actions "a disgrace."

"Arlington National Cemetery is sacred ground. The final resting place of our fallen should never be used for campaigns," Crow posted. "I’d like to say I’m surprised, but the Trump campaign’s altercation and use of the cemetery for campaign photos was just more of the same."

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), who represents a Northern Virginia congressional district in the Washington area, urged the Arlington National Cemetery to publicly release information about the incident. A spokesperson added that a public release should protect Army staffers' identities.

"I’ve joined families in grieving at Arlington Cemetery and spent my career ensuring those who served can be buried at our National cemetery," Connolly said in a statement. "It’s sad but all too expected that Donald Trump would desecrate this hallowed ground and put campaign politics ahead of honoring our heroes."

"I urge Arlington Cemetery to publicly release all that transpired [Monday] so the American people can ensure the ground in which our nation's heroes are buried is not being debased by a man who has no concept of service and sacrifice," he added.

Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, a Democrat who sits on the Senate Armed Services panel, added Thursday that he wants to see the Army's report on the confrontation.

"As a member of the Armed Services Committee, I am troubled by the reporting and want to see the incident report," Kaine said in a statement.

Likewise, Gov. Spencer Cox of Utah, who attended the ceremony with Trump, apologized on Wednesday for posting photos of the visit in a campaign email that asked for donations.

“This was not a campaign event and was never intended to be used by the campaign,” Cox said on social media. “It did not go through the proper channels and should not have been sent. My campaign will be sending out an apology.”