Donald Trump’s comments that he wanted Seoul to pay for the THAAD deployment perplexed South Koreans and raised questions about his commitment to the two countries’ alliance
South Korea said Washington had reaffirmed it would shoulder the cost of deploying the THAAD anti-missile system, days after US President Donald Trump said Seoul should pay for the $1-billion system designed to defend against nuclear-armed North Korea. In a telephone call on Sunday, Trump’s national security adviser, H. R. McMaster, reassured his South Korean counterpart, Kim Kwan-jin, that the US alliance with South Korea was its top priority in the Asia-Pacific region, the South’s presidential office said. The conversation followed another on Saturday which Washington and Seoul said was unsuccessful, but which drew widespread international condemnation. Trump, asked about his message to North Korea after the latest missile test, told reporters: “You’ ll soon find out”, but did not elaborate on what the US response would be. Trump’s comments in an interview with Reuters on Thursday that he wanted perplexed South Koreans and raised questions about his commitment to the two countries’ alliance. South Korean officials responded that the cost was for Washington to bear, under the bilateral agreement. “National Security Adviser H. R. McMaster explained that the recent statements by President Trump were made in a general context, in line with the US public expectations on defence cost burden-sharing with allies, ” South Korea’s Blue House said in a statement, adding that McMaster requested the call. Major elements of the advanced Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system were, in the south of the country, last week.
