Trump Says Kim Jong-un Has 'Responded' to Outreach; Kim Yo-jong Says Drill Cuts Change Nothing

One day after ordering the Pentagon to substantially reduce US-South Korea joint military exercises, President Trump said August 18, 2026 that Kim Jong-un had responded to his request for a conversation, describing the exchange as 'very positive' but giving no further detail — when asked how he knew Kim had responded, Trump replied 'How do you know he hasn't responded?' Pyongyang's own reaction was far more muted: Kim Yo-jong, Kim Jong-un's sister and de facto deputy, issued North Korea's first official response to Trump's drill cuts, saying 'we think it's not worth making comments on that and we have no interest in it at all,' and that 'the provocative, aggressive nature of the drills won't change even though their duration and size were reduced.'