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Trump's cost complaint casts doubt on SKorea military drills
Source: Associated Press
Trump’s cost complaint casts doubt on SKorea military drills
By HYUNG-JIN KIM
February 28, 2019
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Even as he announced the failure of nuclear negotiations with North Korea, President Donald Trump complained that annual military drills with South Korea were “very, very expensive” and said the South must pay more for them.
Trump’s comments Thursday raised the question of whether the allies can hold springtime drills this year at the same level as in the past and maintain their military readiness if tensions with North Korea flare again following the collapsed talks.
The alliance, forged in blood during the 1950-53 Korean War, has been at risk since Trump threatened earlier to pull out the 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea if Seoul doesn’t increase its financial support for them. After his first summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore last June, he baffled many in South Korea by unilaterally announcing the suspension of major summertime military drills, calling them “very provocative” and “tremendously expensive.”
“I want to bring our soldiers (in South Korea) back home,” Trump added.
Trump’s second summit with Kim in Hanoi ended early with no agreement on Thursday because of what Trump described as a dispute over the lifting of U.S.-led sanctions on North Korea. When asked by a reporter whether he would go ahead with other major drills with South Korea, Trump complained about how costly they were.
-snip-
By HYUNG-JIN KIM
February 28, 2019
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Even as he announced the failure of nuclear negotiations with North Korea, President Donald Trump complained that annual military drills with South Korea were “very, very expensive” and said the South must pay more for them.
Trump’s comments Thursday raised the question of whether the allies can hold springtime drills this year at the same level as in the past and maintain their military readiness if tensions with North Korea flare again following the collapsed talks.
The alliance, forged in blood during the 1950-53 Korean War, has been at risk since Trump threatened earlier to pull out the 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea if Seoul doesn’t increase its financial support for them. After his first summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore last June, he baffled many in South Korea by unilaterally announcing the suspension of major summertime military drills, calling them “very provocative” and “tremendously expensive.”
“I want to bring our soldiers (in South Korea) back home,” Trump added.
Trump’s second summit with Kim in Hanoi ended early with no agreement on Thursday because of what Trump described as a dispute over the lifting of U.S.-led sanctions on North Korea. When asked by a reporter whether he would go ahead with other major drills with South Korea, Trump complained about how costly they were.
-snip-
Read more: https://apnews.com/e828d1bdcd4e4f01894eb74a109fbe9c