Kang confident of US troop presence in S. Korea

South Korea’s top diplomat said that she is confident of Washington’s commitment to the alliance and the troop presence in the country during an interview with a US media outlet aired Sunday, as the allies seek to boost coordination amid a diplomatic opening with North Korea.

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” that US President Donald Trump’s apparent threat to remove US troops from South Korea over a trade dispute “raises eyebrows,” but the country remains “absolutely confident of the American commitment to the alliance and the troop presence in our country.”

Kang’s remark came after Trump hinted that he could pull US troops from South Korea if their trade negotiations do not go well.

According to an audio recording obtained by the Washington Post, Trump said at a private fundraiser on Wednesday that “Now we have a very big trade deficit with them, and we protect them.” He reportedly went on to say, “So we lose money on trade, and we lose money on the military. We have right now 32,000 soldiers on the border between North and South Korea. Let’s see what happens.”

Trump’s campaign to reduce the US’ trade deficit with South Korea has been a source of tension in their relationship, despite their alliance on the security front and commitment to tackling the North Korea nuclear crisis.

Trump recently announced that the US will impose heavier tariffs on South Korean steel and aluminum imports, effective as of March 23. The allies are also in talks to renegotiate their free trade deal and to share the costs of maintaining the US’ military presence in Seoul.

Kang told reporters in Washington that she had spoken by phone with US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to “actively seek” an exemption from the new US tariff on steel imports.

“I explained to Secretary Ross that South Korean steel does not pose a threat to US national security and emphasized that the South Korea-US alliance is at a juncture where we need to cooperate,” Kang said.

Kang was on a three-day trip to Washington as both South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Trump are planning to negotiate with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un over its nuclear and missile programs. Moon is due to meet Kim in April, which is expected to set the stage for the historic summit between Trump and Kim in May.

Kang met acting Secretary of State John Sullivan on Friday. They agreed that a meeting between Trump and the North Korean leader is a “historic opportunity” and reaffirmed that the two countries’ alliance is “the lynchpin of stability and security in the region,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement.

Her visit to Washington comes despite a series of personnel changes in the Trump administration. Her former US counterpart, Rex Tillerson, was fired in a Tweet by the president last week and national security adviser H.R. McMaster is rumored to be next in line to be dismissed.

Kang also met Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono on Saturday. The two sides vowed to “further strengthen the close cooperation and communication between South Korea and Japan, as well as between South Korea, the US, and Japan,” according to Seoul’s Foreign Ministry.

During the meeting, Kono asked Kang to raise the decades-old issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea in a summit between Moon and Kim, Japanese news outlet Kyodo Agency reported.

Kang left for Brussels on Saturday to attend the informal Foreign Council of European Union slated for Monday to discuss the latest developments on the North Korea issue, the Foreign Ministry said.

Kang is also to hold a separate bilateral meeting with Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom to be briefed on what had been discussed during an earlier meeting between her and her North Korean counterpart Ri Yong-ho.

(laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)