Elections in America could affect US nuclear umbrella over Seoul
Voice of America
FILE - This image taken from video broadcast by North Korea's KRT shows what it says is a ballistic missile being launched from an undisclosed location in North Korea, Feb. 20, 2023.
A South Korean senior official has rekindled debate over the U.S. commitment to that nation's defense, bringing up the possibility of the U.S. rolling back its nuclear umbrella if former President Donald Trump is reelected. Kim Tae-hyo, South Korea's deputy national security director, said in a Seoul forum Tuesday the reelection of Trump could "weaken a U.S. nuclear umbrella" designed to protect South Korea from North Korean aggression. "Trump as candidate can be seen as pursuing transactional benefits in terms of the South Korea-U.S. alliance," Kim said, according to news reports. "It is not unlikely that he would suggest negotiating defense cost-sharing or the deployment of U.S. strategic assets from a cost perspective."
