Trump complains about 'unfair' relationship with South Korea as North Korea talks approach

[Valin]

Washington Examiner

David M. Drucker

March 15, 2018

President Trump said Wednesday that the U.S. has an unfair, lopsided trade and military relationship with key ally South Korea he prepares for historic talks with rival North Korea to neutralize the rogue regime’s threatening nuclear weapons program.

In audio obtained by the Washington Examiner, Trump told an audience of Republican donors at a Missouri fundraiser for presumptive GOP Senate nominee Josh Hawley, the state attorney general, that the U.S. loses money on economic trade with South Korea. He said the stationing of thousands of U.S. troops on the border with North Korea since the armistice that ended fighting in the Korean War also has been a net loss to Washington.

“It’s so unfair what’s happened to our country. And I don’t know, the politicians have lost their way. In some cases like South Korea, you know they’re making a fortune. Well, we backed them many years ago. When they became rich, we never changed the deal. So we were backing, backing, backing, and no politician ever changed the deal. Now we have a very big trade deficit with them — and we protect them. So we lose money on the trade and we lose money on the military,” Trump said, during a low-key version of his typical stump speech.

This isn't the first time Trump has complained about Washington’s military and economic arrangements with Seoul. As far back as the 2016 campaign, the president lamented the trade ties between the two countries as tilted toward South Korea, while questioning the value to national security of maintaining a military presence on the Korean Peninsula.

(Snip)

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