DP candidate Lee highlights USFK's role in China containment: report
Lee Jae-myung, presidential candidate of South Korea's progressive Democratic Party, has highlighted the strategic importance of US Forces Korea in Washington's efforts to contain China amid speculation the Donald Trump administration may scale down American troops stationed in the country.
The Korea-based American forces "actually play a very important critical role for the United States policy of containment against China," Lee said in an interview with US magazine TIME published Thursday.
Lee's remarks came after The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Washington is considering withdrawing some 4,500 troops, or 16 percent of the USFK, and relocating them to other locations in the Indo-Pacific.
Both Seoul and Washington have dismissed the report, with the Pentagon reaffirming America's full commitment to South Korea's defense.
TIME pointed out that Lee, once seen as more friendly toward China, now appears to be moving to a pro-US stance during the election campaign.
Lee is considered one of the strongest candidates for the June 3 presidential election. He led the latest opinion poll with 49.2 percent, followed by Kim Moon-soo of the conservative People Power Party at 36.8 percent.
Lee also expressed support for Trump's North Korean policies, saying that Trump's willingness to engage in dialogue with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was "helpful for the peace of the Korean Peninsula, as well as for Northeast Asia."
He dismissed concerns that South Korea might be sidelined in future talks, saying it would be "structurally" difficult to exclude Seoul even if direct Trump-Kim negotiations resumed.
During his first term from 2017 to 2021, Trump sat down with Kim three times for nuclear negotiations, though the two sides failed to produce a constructive agreement.
On relations with Japan, Lee reaffirmed his demand for a more "fulsome" apology for Tokyo's colonial rule over Korea from 1910 to 1945.
"We cannot dwell on the past, but Japan continues to deny its history and does not sincerely apologize, which hurts us Koreans," he told TIME.
In trade policy, Lee pledged to pursue "reasonable and rational" discussions with the US to resolve tariff issues.
South Korea is seeking to gain a full exemption or reduction of the Trump administration's 25 percent reciprocal tariffs for the country, as well as sectoral tariffs on steel, automobiles and other imports, by crafting a package deal on trade issues by early July. (Yonhap)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Korea Herald
an hour ago
- Korea Herald
US strikes on Iran leave hopes for nuclear diplomacy in tatters
PARIS/ISTANBUL (Reuters) -- In a bid to defuse the conflict over Iran's nuclear program, foreign ministers from Europe's top three powers hurried to meet their Iranian counterpart on Friday in Geneva. Those hopes collapsed Saturday when US President Donald Trump ordered airstrikes on Iran's three main nuclear sites in support of Israel's military campaign. "It's irrelevant to ask Iran to return to diplomacy," Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araqchi, visibly angry, told reporters in Istanbul on Sunday, promising a "response" to the US strikes."It's not time for diplomacy now." Trump, who said the US airstrikes "obliterated" the sites, warned in a televised speech on Saturday that the US could attack other targets in Iran if no peace deal was reached and urged Tehran to return to the negotiating table. Reuters spoke to seven Western diplomats and analysts who said the prospect of negotiations was negligible for now, with an unbridgeable gap between Washington's demand for zero enrichment by Iran and Tehran's refusal to abandon its nuclear program. "I think the prospects of effective diplomacy at this point are slim to none," said James Acton, co-director of the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a think tank headquartered in Washington. "I'm much more worried about escalation, both in the short and the long term." According to European diplomats, the three European allies -- Britain, France and Germany -- were not made aware of Trump's decision to strike Iran ahead of time. French President Emmanuel Macron had promised on Saturday -- just before the US strikes -- to accelerate the nuclear talks, following a call with his Iranian counterpart. One European diplomat, who asked not to be identified, acknowledged there was now no way of holding a planned second meeting with Iran in the coming week. In the wake of the US military action, any European diplomatic role appears likely to be secondary. Trump on Friday dismissed Europe's efforts towards resolving the crisis, saying Iran only wanted to speak to the US. Three diplomats and analysts said any future talks between Iran and Washington would likely be through regional intermediaries Oman and Qatar, once Tehran decides how to respond to the US airstrikes on its nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. The attacks leave Iran with few palatable options on the table. Since Israel began its military campaign against Iran on June 13, some in Tehran have raised the prospect of withdrawing from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to signal Iran's determination to accelerate enrichment, but experts say that would represent a considerable escalation and likely draw a forceful response from Washington. Acton, of the Carnegie Endowment, said Iran's most obvious means of retaliation is its short-range ballistic missiles, which could be used to target US forces and assets in the region. But any military response by Iran carried the risk of miscalculation, he said. "On the one hand, they want a strong enough response that they feel the US has actually paid a price. On the other hand, they don't want to encourage further escalation," he said. Even before the US strikes, Friday's talks in Geneva showed little sign of progress amid a chasm between the two sides, and in the end, no detailed proposals were put forward, three diplomats said. Mixed messaging may have also undermined their efforts, diplomats said. European positions on key issues like Iran's enrichment program have hardened in the past 10 days with the Israeli strikes and the looming threat of US bombing. The three European powers, known as the E3, were parties to a 2015 nuclear deal that Trump abandoned three years later during his first term. Both the Europeans and Tehran believed they had a better understanding of how to get a realistic deal, given that the E3 has been dealing with Iran's nuclear program since 2003. But the Europeans have had a difficult relationship with Iran in recent months as they sought to pressure it over its ballistic missiles program, support for Russia and detention of European citizens. France, which was the keenest to pursue negotiations, has in the last few days suggested Iran should move towards zero enrichment, which until now was not an E3 demand given Iran's red line on the issue, two European diplomats said. Britain has also adopted a tougher stance more in tune with Washington and that was expressed in Geneva, the diplomats said. And Germany's new government appeared to go in the same direction, although it was more nuanced. "Iran has to accept zero enrichment eventually," said one EU official. A senior Iranian official on Saturday showed disappointment at the Europeans' new stance, saying their demands were "unrealistic," without providing further details. In a brief joint statement Sunday, which acknowledged the US strikes, the European countries said they would continue their diplomatic efforts. "We call upon Iran to engage in negotiations leading to an agreement that addresses all concerns associated with its nuclear program," it said, adding the Europeans stood ready to contribute "in coordination with all parties." David Khalfa, co-founder of the Atlantic Middle East Forum, a Paris-based think tank, said Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's government had taken advantage of the Europeans for years to gain time as it developed its nuclear program and ballistic missile capabilities. "The European attempt ended in failure," he said. However, the Europeans still have one important card to play. They are the only ones who, as parties to the nuclear accord, can launch its so-called "snapback mechanism," which would reimpose all previous UN sanctions on Iran if it is found to be in violation of the agreement's terms. Diplomats said, before the US strikes, the three countries had discussed an end-August deadline to activate it as part of a 'maximum pressure' campaign on Tehran. In total, the US launched 75 precision-guided munitions, including more than two dozen Tomahawk missiles, and more than 125 military aircraft in the operation against the three nuclear sites, US officials said. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Sunday warned Iran against retaliation and said both public and private messages had been sent to Iran "in multiple channels, giving them every opportunity to come to the table." Five previous rounds of indirect negotiations between the US and Iran collapsed after a US proposal at the end of May called for Iran to abandon uranium enrichment. It was rejected by Tehran, leading to Israel launching its attack on Iran after Trump's 60-day deadline for talks had expired. Iran has repeatedly said from then on that it would not negotiate while at war. Even after Israel struck, Washington reached out to Iran to resume negotiations, including offering a meeting between Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in Istanbul, according to two European diplomats and an Iranian official. That was rebuffed by Iran, but Araqchi did continue direct contacts with US Special envoy Steve Witkoff, three diplomats told Reuters. One of the challenges in engaging with Iran, experts say, is that no one can be sure of the extent of the damage to its nuclear program. With the IAEA severely restricted in its access to Iranian sites, it is unclear whether Tehran has hidden enrichment facilities. A senior Iranian source told Reuters on Sunday that most of the highly enriched uranium at Fordow, the site producing the bulk of Iran's uranium refined to up to 60 percent, had been moved to an undisclosed location before the US attack there. Acton, of the Carnegie Endowment, said that -- putting aside the damage to its physical installations -- Iran had thousands of scientists and technicians involved in the enrichment program, most of whom had survived the US and Israeli attacks.
Korea Herald
an hour ago
- Korea Herald
NATO agrees to higher defense spending goal
BRUSSELS/MADRID (Reuters) — NATO members agreed on Sunday to a big increase in their defense spending target to 5 percent of gross domestic product, as demanded by US President Donald Trump, but Spain said it did not need to comply just days before a summit in The Hague meant to be a show of unity. NATO officials had been anxious to find consensus on a summit statement on a new spending commitment ahead of Wednesday's gathering. But Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez declared on Thursday he would not commit to the 5 percent target. NATO boss Mark Rutte has proposed to reach the target by boosting NATO's core defense spending goal from 2 percent to 3.5 percent of GDP and spending an extra 1.5 percent on related items like cybersecurity and adapting roads and bridges for military vehicles. After diplomats agreed on a compromise text on Sunday, Sanchez swiftly proclaimed Spain would not have to meet the 5 percent target as it would only have to spend 2.1 percent of GDP to meet NATO's core military requirements. "We fully respect the legitimate desire of other countries to increase their defense investment, but we are not going to do so," Sanchez said in an address on Spanish television. Spain spent 1.24 percent of GDP on defense in 2024, or about 17.2 billion euros ($19.8 billion), according to NATO estimates, making it the lowest spender in the alliance as a share of its economic output. NATO officials argue big defense spending increases are needed to counter a growing threat from Russia and to allow Europe to take on more responsibility for its own security as the United States shifts its military focus to China. Sanchez's stance risked setting up a summit clash with Trump, who has frequently accused European countries of not spending enough on defense and threatened not to defend them if they do not meet their targets. On Friday, Trump said Spain "has to pay what everybody else has to pay" and Madrid was "notorious" for low defense spending. However, he also suggested the US should not have to meet the new target, as the US had spent large amounts to protect the continent over a long period. Washington spent an estimated 3.19 percent of GDP on defense in 2024, NATO says. But Sanchez argued it was not necessary for Spain to meet the new target and trying to do so would mean drastic cuts on social spending, such as state pensions, or tax hikes. NATO did not release the compromise summit text, which will only become official when it is endorsed by the leaders of NATO's 32 members at the summit. But diplomats said one tweak in the language on the spending commitment, from "we commit" to "allies commit," allowed Spain to say the pledge does not apply to all members. In a letter seen by Reuters, Rutte told Sanchez that Spain would have "flexibility to determine its own sovereign path" for meeting its military capability targets agreed with NATO. A NATO diplomat said Rutte's letter was simply "an affirmation that allies chart their own course for making good on their commitments" to meet their capability targets. NATO officials have expressed scepticism that Spain can meet its military capability targets by spending just 2.1 percent of GDP, as Sanchez has suggested. The targets are secret, so their costs cannot be independently verified. "All allies have now agreed to the summit statement, which includes the new defense investment plan," said the diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters. Rutte had originally proposed countries meet the new target by 2032 but the deadline in the final text is 2035, according to diplomats. There will also be a review of the target in 2029.
Korea Herald
4 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Lee's approval rating rises to 59.3%
President Lee Jae Myung's public approval rating rose to nearly 60 percent in the second week of his presidency, a poll showed Monday. In the Realmeter poll of 2,514 people aged 18 and above conducted from Monday to Friday last week, 59.3 percent said Lee did a good job in managing state affairs, up 0.7 percentage point from the previous week. Another 33.5 percent of the respondents said Lee did poorly, while the remaining 7.2 percent said they were unsure. Realmeter said Lee's approval rating rose early in the week, backed by his recent participation in the Group of Seven summit and the Kospi index topping the 3,000-point milestone but declined later in the week amid controversies surrounding Prime Minister nominee Kim Min-seok. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points and a confidence level of 95 percent. In a separate survey conducted by the same pollster on 1,008 individuals aged 18 and over Thursday and Friday, the approval rating for the ruling Democratic Party fell 1.5 percentage points to 48.4 percent, while the figure for the main opposition People Power Party inched up 1 percentage point to 31.4 percent. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, with a confidence rate of 95 percent. (Yonhap)
