US election looms over US-South Korea-Japan security cooperation
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-election-looms-over-us-south-korea-japan-security-cooperation/7737202.html
US election looms over US-South Korea-Japan security cooperation
August 09, 2024 8:36 PM
By Young Gyo Kim
WASHINGTON
Experts in Washington are split on their perspectives of the durability of the recently elevated U.S.-South Korea-Japan security cooperation in the event of former President Donald Trump winning the November U.S. presidential election, given his critical stance toward U.S. alliances in the past.
Last month, the U.S., South Korea and Japan signed a memorandum of cooperation on the Trilateral Security Cooperation Framework (TSCF), which is aimed at institutionalizing the countries' security partnership against threats from China and North Korea.
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Some in Washington, however, question whether the United States, South Korea and Japan would successfully institutionalize the enhanced security cooperation in a second Trump presidency.
"Certainly, the greatest and near-term concern is if President Trump is reelected, whether he would undo some of the progress of recent years," Bruce Klingner, senior research fellow for Northeast Asia at the Heritage Foundation, told VOA Korean by telephone Wednesday.
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