South Korea and U.S. Relations Tested After Trump Nomination
Donald Trump is likely to become the Republican nominee in the 2016 U.S. presidential elections. Koreans are increasingly weary of Trump due to his desire to end previous cooperations that have existed between Seoul and the U.S.
Donald Trump presents a great risk for the relationship between South Korea and the U.S. A report from the Korea Times suggest that, if elected, Trump is planning to sever the military alliance and economic cooperation currently in place between the countries.
The amicable relationship could potentially become sour as Trump is said to reconsider the terms of protecting South Korea from North Korea. The report goes on to suggest that Trump would even ask Seoul to pay more costs for the 28,000 troops currently in Seoul.
Park Won-gon of Handong University shared: "It's possible that he can order the pull out of U.S. forces from the Korean Peninsula if South Korea fails to meet his demands."
Kim Hyun-wook of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy claimed that Trump may even seek to reduce the number of U.S. troops in Seoul.
"Trump may try to resize, restructure and alter the posture of the American military here even if he learns later that withdrawing all the troops is unrealistic," he added.
Kim went on to say that Trump is all about profit. He once accused South Korea of getting a "free ride" from the U.S. in its efforts to protect South Korea from the North. He said in January to CNN that South Korea should pay "very substantially" to keep the America troops in Korea.
A report from Korea Times writes that Trump even suggested at one point that South Korea and Japan should come together and develop their own nuclear weapons against North Korea once U.S troops withdraw.
"Trump is all about profit first and everything else second, including diplomacy," Kim stated. "And he is unlikely to care about a nuclear arms race in the region as long he thinks it can save money for the U.S."
Trump's presidency could mean a world of difference for international relations. For now, the world is watching closely at the race to the White House.
