Trump, Calling South Korea ‘Not Helpful’ in Iran War, Again Hints at Reducing American Troops in South Korea

SEOUL — The Iran War is driving a wedge between Washington and Seoul over America’s defense of South Korea, while North Korea flexes its muscles in missile tests and tightens bonds with Moscow.The differences have burst into the open with President Trump rebuking Seoul for not pitching in with American forces in opening the Strait of Hormuz, hinting, as he has done ever since his first term, at reducing the number of American troops in South Korea.South Korea “was not helpful to us,” South Korea’s biggest selling newspaper, Chosun Ilbo, quoted him as saying at a White House luncheon, singling out Korea. “We only have 45,000 soldiers in harm’s way over there, right next to a nuclear force. Let South Korea do it.”The Korean press was quick to point out that America has 28,500 troops in South Korea amid heightened concerns that Mr. Trump might want to withdraw many if not most of them. Chosun Ilbo implied the mistake was deliberate, noting Mr. Trump had previously cited “the inflated figure.” Mr. Trump was also quoted as saying, “Let Japan do it,” since “they get 90 percent of their oil from the strait,” and “Let China do it,” but he had much more to say about South Korea.His remarks “are interpreted as dissatisfaction that while the U.S. stations troops in South Korea, South Korea did not cooperate with requests to dispatch warships to the Strait of Hormuz,” Chosun Ilbo reported. “Since his presidential campaign, he has repeatedly argued, ‘Why should America protect South Korea, which has become a wealthy nation?’Fears of waning American support for South Korea rose as the South’s president, Lee Jae-myung, warned a “war-like situation” was endangering Korean lives. “It is not a passing shower,” Seoul’s Yonhap News quoted him as saying. “It is a massive storm of uncertain duration. Even if the war were to end tomorrow, it will take considerable time to restore damaged energy infrastructure in the Middle East and return to supply stability.”With 26 Korean-flagged vessels held up by Iranian threats against the Strait of Hormuz, Korean officials have said South Korea is contemplating its own bilateral talks with Tehran — a move in defiance of Mr. Trump’s quest for a diplomatic solution enforced by American military power. The possibility of going it alone with Tehran came to light as prices fell 4.475 percent on the Korea stock exchange after Mr. Trump’s tough talk on Thursday in which he threatened more attacks on Iran with no end in sight.North Korea, meanwhile, is steadily building up its missile strength. Most recently Pyongyang’s Korean Central News Agency reported North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, witnessed the test of a new solid fuel engine that would be faster, stronger and more difficult to detect than other models in the North’s inventory. North Korea has transferred much of its missile technology to Iran, which is capable of making its own missiles. North Korea is also shipping missiles, drones and artillery shells to support Russia’s war in Ukraine.The war, however, may compel South Korea to invest more in its own defense and speed up plans to assume operational control of Korean as well as American forces in a second Korean War. Right now, the commander of U.S. Forces Korea also serves as Combined Forces Commander and would be in charge of all forces in the South in wartime. American and South Korean forces have been working on OPCON, for transferring operational control, a complicated process that still is not complete.“We should take back the right to operate and reduce the burden on the United States,” the newspaperJoongAng Ilbo quoted Mr. Lee telling a bipartisan delegation of American senators led by Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina. South Korea, he said, “should reduce the burden on the United States not only by increasing military spending but also by returning wartime operational rights, and at least protect the security and peace of Northeast Asia on our own near the Korean Peninsula.”

Trump, Calling South Korea ‘Not Helpful’ in Iran War, Again Hints at Reducing American Troops in South Korea

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