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Will US-North Korea deal leave Japan, South Korea vulnerable?

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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.
South Korea’s defence ministry sought to play it down, saying in a statement that it “need[s] to find out the exact meaning or intention behind [Trump’s] comments”.
Japan also expressed concerns. Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera said on Wednesday: “The drills and the US military stationed in South Korea play a vital role in East Asia’s security.”
Meanwhile, the United States’ military spokeswoman in South Korea, Lieutenant Colonel Jennifer Lovett, said forces there had not received any instructions to cease training exercises, and a joint drill planned for the autumn would go ahead unless they were instructed otherwise.
Regional security experts said that in light of Trump’s about-face on joint military drills with South Korea – he had earlier been against such a move – it was no surprise that Seoul and Tokyo had security concerns.
Leonard Edwards, Canada’s former ambassador to Japan and Korea, who is now a distinguished fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation, a Canadian think tank, said the US would need to give South Korea and Japan strong reassurances that it would remain committed to their security.
“Since it appears that this “concession” was provided personally and spontaneously by President Trump to Chairman Kim as the meeting drew to a close, and without an equivalent corresponding action from Mr Kim… this will be of concern to both Japan and Korea,” Edwards said.

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