Reuters reported that South Korea’s anti-war protesters held a rally outside the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, calling for the suspension of the two countries’ annual joint exercises.

The rally was held after an order by Donald Trump, the U.S. president, to significantly reduce the scale of the two countries’ joint exercises.

Reuters wrote that the annual joint exercise “Freedom Shield: Ulchi” will be held from Monday for 10 days, with the participation of about 18,000 South Korean military personnel.

The drills are expected to include exercises to counter drones, disrupt signals from global positioning system (GPS) capabilities, and conduct cyberattacks, with the aim of adapting to North Korea’s evolving capabilities.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff told Reuters that the exercises began as planned on Monday, but declined to comment on Trump’s remarks.

The presidential office and the South Korean defense and foreign ministries also did not respond immediately due to an official holiday in Seoul.