President accuses South Korean government of « appeasement. »
On the same day as reports of another North Korean nuclear weapons test surfaced, President Donald Trump criticized U. S. ally South Korea, accusing its new president of “appeasement” for supporting dialogue to avoid nuclear weapons proliferation on the Korean Peninsula.
“South Korea is finding, as I have told them, that their talk of appeasement with North Korea will not work, they only understand one thing!” Trump tweeted Sunday morning.
Trump’s comments came a day after reports emerged that the president instructed advisers to prepare to withdraw the United States from a free-trade agreement with South Korea. As president, Trump has promised to fight what he views as unfair trade competition. But the Washington Post reported Saturday that the president’s top national security and economic advisers are pushing him to abandon his plan to sever trade ties with South Korea, saying it would hamper U. S. economic growth and harm ties with an important ally.
South Korea is finding, as I have told them, that their talk of appeasement with North Korea will not work, they only understand one thing!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 3,2017
Ely Ratner, a top national security official in the Obama administration, told the New York Times that Trump is “coming out swinging” at South Korea and China at a time when the United States is going to need close cooperation with the two countries. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) told CNN on Sunday that he opposes undoing the trade agreement with South Korea and found the move by the Trump administration a “troubling sign.
