Former US president Donald Trump on Friday accused his South Korean counterpart of ripping off the United States, whereas persevering with to spotlight his supposed friendship with North Korean chief Kim Jong Un.
“Kim Jong-un of North Korea, who I’ve gotten to know (and like) underneath essentially the most attempting of circumstances, by no means revered the present President of South Korea, Moon Jae-in,” Trump said in a statement.
“President Moon was weak as a leader and as a negotiator, except when it came to the continued, long term military ripoff of the USA… We were treated like fools for decades, however, I got them to pay billions of dollars more for the military protection and services we render.”
“The Biden Administration will not be even going to ask for the extra billions South Korea agreed to pay us,” Trump added, referring to current President Joe Biden.
During his presidency, Trump positioned himself as a lead negotiator in peace talks on the Korean peninsula.
He first met in June 2018 with Kim in Singapore, the first-ever summit between the countries still technically at war, and later said the two leaders “fell in love.”
The pair met twice extra throughout Trump’s time in workplace, and North Korea held off on nuclear and missile exams — however analysts say Pyongyang has saved advancing its weapons applications.
In March, South Korea agreed to pay 13.9 % extra towards the price of the US troop presence on the peninsula, in a six-year deal resolving a difficulty that festered underneath the Trump administration.
The monetary dispute had bedeviled the 2 allies’ safety alliance after Trump — who took a transactional strategy to overseas coverage — repeatedly accused South Korea of freeloading.
Washington stations round 28,500 troops in South Korea to defend it from the nuclear-armed North Korea, in addition to to guard US pursuits in northeast Asia.
Under the brand new deal, Seoul has agreed to pay 1.18 trillion received ($1.03 billion) for 2021, with annual will increase thereafter linked to its protection finances.
The sum represents a 13.9 % improve on the roughly $920 million Seoul was paying underneath the earlier settlement, which expired in 2019 — however is a far cry from the Trump administration’s preliminary demand of $5 billion a yr.
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