He just needs to spend some with his bff to soothe his hurt feelings, poor boy --
Trump again appears to take North Korea’s side against his own military, allies
By Simon Denyer and
David Nakamura
August 10 at 9:32 AM
TOKYO — President Trump on Saturday appeared to side with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un in renewing his objections to joint military exercises with South Korea, calling such drills “ridiculous and expensive” at a time when Pyongyang has been testing short-range missiles.
In a pair of morning tweets from his resort in Bedminster, N.J., where he arrived late Friday for a 10-day vacation, Trump said Kim objected to the exercises in a letter and suggested that the missile tests would end once the drills are finished.
“It was a long letter, much of it complaining about the ridiculous and expensive exercises,” Trump wrote, asserting that the letter amounted to “a small apology for testing the short range missiles.”
Trump also said Kim suggested that negotiations over its nuclear weapons program, which have been dormant since a second summit in Hanoi broke off without an agreement in February, could resume after the joint exercises conclude.
“I look forward to seeing Kim Jong Un in the not too distant future!” Trump added. “A nuclear free North Korea will lead to one of the most successful countries in the world!”
Pyongyang has repeatedly insisted the tests are a reaction to joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises, as well as Seoul’s import of F-35A stealth fighters from the United States. Trump appeared to accept that explanation. He offered no rebuttal to the idea that the exercises were not worthwhile, even though his own military says they are vital to maintain combat readiness.
Trump recently repeated a complaint that South Korea had been paying “very little” for the presence of U.S. troops in its country and said it had now agreed to pay “substantially more.” That has horrified many experts who say the alliance brings tremendous benefits in terms of U.S. security.
“Sends the wrong message to our allies. Security at a price? That's not who we are and plays into Kim's (China’s) hands,” tweeted James Zimmerman, a U.S. lawyer and business leader based in Beijing.
“The comment alone is potentially destabilizing and sounds like a mob shakedown. Seoul's security is very much a global security issue, at whatever the cost,” Zimmerman added.
continues at washingtonpost.com |
