Trump Orders Scale-Back of S. Korea-U.S. Drills... People Power Party Says, 'Result Brought Upon by Current Govt'

The People Power Party criticized on the 17th that U.S. President Donald Trump's order to scale down the South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises is "the result brought upon by the Lee Jae-myung administration's impoverished security outlook and irresponsible amateur diplomacy."

Chief Spokesperson Park Sung-hoon said in a commentary, "A security disaster has occurred in which the South Korea-U.S. joint exercises were drastically scaled back by President Trump's unilateral order," adding, "The dismal reality where defense drills, which should check practical response capabilities against North Korea's threats, are left with only a shell is entirely the result brought upon by the Lee Jae-myung administration."

He also claimed, "The arrogant diplomatic behavior of the Lee Jae-myung administration, which treated the trust of the alliance like a worn-out shoe, brought about distrust," and "President Trump publicly revealed that he asked President Lee if he was willing to join efforts for Iran's denuclearization, but was refused with a 'no thank you.' Ultimately, this planted deep distrust in the minds of the allied leader."

Furthermore, he urged, "The Lee Jae-myung administration must offer a deep apology to the public for the current disaster," and "Immediately scrap dangerous ideological diplomacy, restore the collapsed South Korea-U.S. cooperation, and normalize the substantive combined defense posture."

Lawmaker Na Kyung-won posted on Facebook, "U.S. President Donald Trump is shaking the combined defense posture, which is the core axis of the South Korea-U.S. alliance, by flaunting his close ties with Kim Jong-un and mentioning the burden of exercise costs," and pointed out, "The 70-odd-year South Korea-U.S. alliance is facing an unprecedented crisis since the nation's founding, and a blood alliance forged in blood has overnight been reduced to America's target of 'cost and transaction.'"

Lawmaker Kim Gunn of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee also wrote on Facebook, "What was the Lee Jae-myung administration doing until President Trump publicly expressed his dissatisfaction with the joint exercises, the core of the alliance, and his order to scale them down?" and added, "It is questionable whether the National Security Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the South Korean Embassy in the U.S. properly grasped U.S. trends, and whether communication and coordination between South Korea and the U.S. are taking place properly."

Former lawmaker Yoo Seong-min said, "President Trump's perception of North Korean threats and the U.S. government's response appear more dangerous than during Trump's first term. With President Trump's remarks today, the South Korea-U.S. alliance is in even greater peril," adding, "Now, centrifugal forces are acting on the South Korea-U.S. alliance from both South Korea and the United States."

He then stated, "What matters is how we will protect the Republic of Korea moving forward. How will the Lee Jae-myung administration overcome this national security crisis?" and added, "Unless the public and the opposition party pull themselves together, the country has reached a point where we do not know where it is headed."

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