“It is unfortunate that (President Joe Biden) reduced this (defense cost sharing),” he said. “If I were president, Korea would have paid $10 billion a year.” “They are willing to do that.”
Former President Trump’s remarks today are interpreted as an expression of his intention to ask Korea to renegotiate its share of U.S. military defense costs if he is elected president in the presidential election on the 5th of next month.
In particular, as former President Trump referred to Korea as a “cash machine” and implied that he would request a new standard of $10 billion, which is nine times the agreed upon defense cost share for next year, the pressure to increase defense spending is expected to increase even more than during the first Trump administration.
Original text:
https://v.daum.net/v/20241016065857953
Former President Trump also referred to Korea as a ‘money machine’ and mentioned the fact that he had imposed tariffs on Korean trucks while he was in office. “I love Korea and they are wonderful people,” he said. “I got along very well with them, but they didn’t pay anything.” He then claimed, “Korea was sending trucks to the United States, and I imposed tariffs on them,” adding, “It was a fair and practical tariff.” There are also predictions that if the second Trump administration takes office, it may involve not only security issues but also economic issues in order to gain an advantage in defense cost-sharing negotiations with South Korea.
https://v.daum.net/v/20241016080811079
