South Korean President Moon Jae-in countered US President Donald Trump’s remarks on North Korea
Questions have arisen about the future of the U. S.-South Korea security alliance as the nations take different approaches to North Korea, despite the fact the decades-long relationship remains robust right now, experts say.
“The U. S. and South Korea are aligned for now because North Korea is not playing ball, it’s not accepting South Korean requests for dialogue, ” Sue Mi Terry, a former CIA analyst and director for Korea, Japan and Oceanic Affairs at the U. S. National Security Council, told VOA’s Korean Service. “But that could change of course.”
Questions about the strength and resilience of the Washington-Seoul relationship loomed large after South Korean President Moon Jae-in declared August 15 in a televised speech that there will be no military action on the Korean peninsula without his government’s approval.
Moon made his statement days after U. S. President Donald Trump suggested the possibility of “fire and fury like the world has never seen” if North Korea continues on its current path of weapons development.
100th day in office
During Thursday’s news conference marking his 100th day in office, the liberal South Korean president reiterated his stance, saying “there will never be another war on the Korean peninsula, ” in what appeared to some to be a direct rebuke of Trump’s stance, which keeps the military option on the table.
“There is a potential for serious differences between Washington and Seoul, ” said Alexander Vershbow, who was U. S. ambassador to Seoul from 2005-2008. “But right now I think the administration is in tune with President Moon Jae-in in trying to convince the North Koreans to halt further provocations.”
David Straub, a former U. S. diplomat who is now a fellow at the Sejong Institute, a research organization near Seoul, said with Moon advocating a policy of engagement and dialog, it is already difficult for Washington to work with Seoul to influence Pyongyang’s weapons programs.
