U.S. nuclear umbrella against N.K. threats may weaken under second Trump term: senior security official
By Kim Seung-yeon
SEOUL, Sept. 3 (Yonhap) — The United States’ commitment to providing South Korea with its “nuclear umbrella” against North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats might weaken under the presidency of Donald Trump if he is reelected, a senior South Korean security official said Tuesday.
Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo made the projection, citing Trump’s well-known perspective of alliances as costs that U.S. allies should pay for more or shoulder a bigger share of.
“Trump as candidate can be seen as pursuing transactional benefits in terms of the South Korea-U.S. alliance,” Kim said at a forum hosted by the Sejong Institute.
“It is not unlikely that he would suggest negotiating defense cost-sharing or the deployment of U.S. strategic assets from a cost perspective,” Kim said.
Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo speaks during a parliamentary session at the National Assembly in Seoul on Aug. 27, 2024. (Yonhap)
Since the launch of the Joe Biden administration, South Korea and the U.S. have bolstered efforts to cement the U.S. “extended deterrence” commitment to using its full range of capabilities, including nuclear, to defend its ally.
The Nuclear Consultative Group, launched after their leaders’ April summit last year, is part of such efforts to strengthen the U.S. credibility of the deterrence commitment.
Yet, the potential second Trump administration will inherit the framework of the trilateral cooperation among the U.S., South Korea and Japan, Kim said, citing the need for Washington to maintain security partnership in areas like the real-time information sharing on the North’s missile launches and multi-year three-way military drills.
Kim, meanwhile, said Trump, if reelected, would still consider holding another summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who would likely use this to sideline the South in its talks with Washington.
“(Trump) talks during his campaign about how he is close to Kim Jong-un, but since the no-deal summit in Hanoi in 2019, it’s clear that Trump and his advisers have significantly lowered their expectations about the North Korean regime,” Kim said.
During his term, Trump met Kim three times in person, including the first-ever summit between the U.S. and the North in Singapore in June 2018. But nuclear diplomacy has stalled since the Hanoi summit ended without a deal.
elly@yna.co.kr
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