The newspaper Vedomosti, Moscow edition, in an analysis of the decision by Donald Trump, the president of the United States, to significantly reduce joint military exercises with South Korea, wrote that these exercises are costly and are an obstacle to the normalization of dialogue with North Korea.

The newspaper, citing Mikhail Dadakov, a political science expert, wrote that disagreements over the $350 billion investment promised by South Korea in the United States, as well as the cost of Washington’s military presence in that country, were among the factors behind this decision. According to him, Trump wants Seoul to increase its share in covering the costs of American forces, and the Iran issue also played a role in this decision.

Vedomosti also, citing Pavel Koshkin, a researcher at the Russian Academy of Sciences, wrote that the reduction in exercises could be a sign of the United States’ desire to resume talks with North Korea. He added that this approach is consistent with Trump’s overall policy of reducing the American military presence in regions that have lower priority.