SEOUL, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- Commander of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) Xavier Brunson visited South Korea's defense ministry on Tuesday to hold talks with South Korean defense officials following U.S. President Donald Trump's order to scale back joint South Korea-U.S. military drills, according to Yonhap news agency.

South Korean and U.S. soldiers take a position during an annual joint military landing exercise in Pohang, on South Korea's southeast coast, on March 12, 2016. (Photo: Xinhua)

The ongoing Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise, a summertime South Korea-U.S. military exercise featuring field maneuvers, a computer-simulated command post exercise and civil defense drills, will last for 11 days until Aug. 27.