Monday, May 20, 2024 | Last Update : 06:25 PM IST
Trump cash talk threatens ties: S Korean media
The two countries are bound by a defence pact and 28,500 US troops are stationed in the South.
Seoul: South Korean media on Monday warned of a “Trump risk” threatening the alliance between Washington and Seoul.
The two countries are bound by a defence pact and 28,500 US troops are stationed in the South. But the new US President has said that Seoul should pay for a “billion-dollar” US missile defence system being deployed in the South to guard against threats from the North.
The remarks stunned Seoul, with South Korean politicians immediately rejecting his push. “Trump’s mouth rattling Korea-US alliance” said a front-page headline in South Korea’s top-selling Chosun daily on Monday.
“There are issues that are far more important than just money,” it said in an editorial. “If either country keeps reducing the alliance to the matter of money or the economy, it is bound to undermine basic trust.”
Another South Korean newspaper, JoongAng Ilbo, accused Mr Trump’s administration of sending “confusing and contradictory messages”, creating a “chaotic situation” that dealt a “huge blow” to the bilateral alliance.
