Will US-North Korea deal leave Japan, South Korea vulnerable?
Tokyo and Seoul surprised by Donald Trump’s announcement he plans to end joint military drills and ‘bring troops home’
South Korea and Japan were left confused and concerned about their long-term security after US President Donald Trump said America would no longer take part in “war games” with its East Asian allies and wanted to reduce troop numbers in the region, analysts said.
At a briefing immediately after his landmark summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore on Tuesday, Trump described the joint military drills with South Korea as costly and “provocative”, and said he would like to bring home the 32,000 soldiers based there.
“This is bad news for both South Korea and Japan, as joint exercises form an important part of the US’ deterrence strategy,” Benoit Hardy-Chartrand, an adjunct professor at Temple University in Tokyo, said.
While Seoul and Tokyo welcomed the Singapore summit and the release of the joint statement, the two allies, which live with the direct threat of Pyongyang’s nuclear and conventional weapons, appeared surprised by Trump’s announcement.
