Washington, D.C., Aug. 20 (ANI): U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed dissatisfaction with South Korea over its unwillingness to assist Washington in securing the Strait of Hormuz, while also questioning the conduct of large-scale joint military exercises targeting North Korea, underscoring tensions over burden-sharing and regional security.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump highlighted his displeasure with Seoul’s response when it was approached about providing maritime security assistance in the crucial energy passage.
“I was not happy when South Korea said, no, they’re not interested in helping us with the Hormuz Strait, and yet they get 60 per cent of their oil from the Hormuz Strait,” Trump said.
Recounting his exchange with South Korean officials, he added, “I said, ‘Would you like to help us?’ He said, no, thank you. I said that’s nice, please, thank you.”
The president directly connected Seoul’s refusal to assist with the Hormuz deployment to his growing reservations about conducting major military exercises on the Korean Peninsula. He argued that such exercises were counterproductive at a time when he is attempting to maintain diplomatic communication with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
“I felt that to do a massive, we were doing a massive war exercise. I thought that was very insulting to somebody that frankly has been, during my term at least, very well-behaved,” Trump said.
When asked whether achieving complete denuclearization remains his core objective in seeking renewed engagement with Pyongyang, Trump did not provide a direct response.
“Well, I don’t want to talk about that, but I do have a good relationship with Kim Jong Un, as you know, you’ve seen,” he said.
Contrasting his personal rapport with Kim with the diplomatic records of previous U.S. administrations, Trump maintained that his direct engagement has enhanced regional security for Washington and its Asian allies.
“He didn’t like Biden, he didn’t like Obama, he didn’t like anybody, but he likes me, and I like, you know, I just got along with him very good,” Trump said. “We had great meetings, we speak.”
“And I think our nation and I think other nations, frankly, whether it’s Japan or South Korea, they’re a lot safer if I’m President than if somebody else is President,” he added.
Reiterating his opposition to allied military exercises that Pyongyang views as preparations for conflict, Trump said, “Now, I didn’t like the fact that we’re doing these massive military exercises really against North Korea. It was, you know, an exercise against North Korea.”
He asserted that his personal relationship with the North Korean leader reduces immediate security threats, although he provided no specific roadmap for ongoing diplomatic discussions or formal negotiating timelines.
“When I’m friendly with him, when we have, I don’t see anything happening for certainly two and a half years, it’s not going to happen with me, but I don’t see anything happening,” Trump said.
The U.S. president’s remarks follow his recent assessment that North Korea possesses roughly 57 nuclear weapons and continues to expand its nuclear capabilities, although he did not provide specific intelligence details supporting the warhead estimate during the briefing. (ANI)
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