Trump reviews forces in S. Korea
‘Ultimately it will all work out,’ president says in visit to base
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea— Reviewing American forces along the Korean peninsula, President Donald Trump met with U.S. and South Korean military leaders Tuesday at the start of a two-day visit centered on pressuring the north to abandon its nuclear weapons program.
Trump has repeatedly struck a hard line against Pyongyang and South Korea was warily watching Trump as he was poised to deliver bellicose warnings in the shadow of North Korea.
Shortly after arriving in South Korea, Trump traveled by helicopter to Camp Humphreys, a military base about 40 miles south of Seoul, where he briefly addressed the interlocking issues of security and trade at the heart of his visit.
Speaking before an operational briefing at the base, Trump said he would be meeting with generals about North Korea, declaring: “Ultimately it will all work out. Because it always works out. It has to work out.”
The president also said he had a “terrific” meeting scheduled on trade, adding, “hopefully that’ll start working out and working out so that we create lots of jobs in the United States, which is one of the very important reasons I’m here.”
Trump also sat with troops for lunch in a large mess hall. South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in was also seated at the table. “Good food,” Trump told reporters as he chatted with U.S. and Korean service members.
U.S. and South Korean officials have said the base visit was meant to underscore the countries’ ties and South Korea’s commitment to contributing to its own defense. Burden-sharing is a theme Trump has stressed ever since his presidential campaign.
South Korea is the second stop on Trump’s five country Asian tour.
In Japan, he refused to rule out eventual military action against the north and exhorted dictator Kim Jong Un to stop weapons testing, calling the recent launches of missiles over American allies like Japan “a threat to the civilized world and international peace and stability.”
Trump is skipping the customary trip to the demilitarized zone separating north and south.
A senior administration recently dubbed the border trip as “a bit of a cliche” and several other members of the administration, including Vice President Mike Pence, have visited the DMZ this year.