SK shrugs off US threat to cut troops

SEOUL: South Korea had a muted reaction after US President Donald Trump hinted the administration might roll back military support for its longtime ally, a threat that came as the two sides seek to overhaul their trade deal while also disarming Kim Jong-un.

“We have a very big trade deficit with them, and we protect them,” Mr Trump said on Wednesday, according to an audio recording of a speech he delivered to donors in Missouri, which was obtained by the Washington Post. “We lose money on trade, and we lose money on the military. We have right now 32,000 soldiers on the border between North and South Korea. Let’s see what happens.”

In a text message yesterday, South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s office said there was “no need to comment on what a foreign state leader says every time. We don’t have anything to say regarding this”.

Mr Trump’s remarks were part of a 30-minute speech in which he criticised several top trading partners of unfair trade practices. His linkage of trade talks to military support on the Korean Peninsula comes as he prepares to meet with Mr Kim, a potentially historic encounter brokered by the South Koreans.

“Our allies care about themselves,” Trump said. “They don’t care about us.”

The Pentagon however said on Thursday the US relationship with South Korea is the “strongest it’s ever been”.