Criticism, led by the Democratic Party, has poured in following U.S. President Donald Trump's directive to significantly scale back South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises, citing his personal relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and cost concerns.
Hillary Clinton, a Democratic senator and Trump's 2016 presidential election rival, posted on social media on the 17th (local time), writing, "The president is making American policy more favorable to North Korea and Russia than to Canada and Oman," and asking, "Are you kidding me?" Democratic Senator Mark Kelly also stated, "Trump needs to read history and get his priorities straight. Joint exercises help ensure that we and allies like South Korea remain well-trained and coordinated. Downscaling joint exercises only helps North Korea."
Senator Jack Reed, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, also posted on social media, criticizing, "Trump is wrong on Putin and wrong on North Korea," adding, "Rather than strengthening our security and alliances, Trump is handing propaganda victories to himself."
In a separate statement, he pointed out, "If President Trump scales back military exercises to flatter a dictator, or punishes South Korea for refusing to join a war he started, all our allies and adversaries will view America's commitments as negotiable."
Criticism also emerged from the ruling Republican Party.
Senator Thom Tillis noted on social media, "Scaling back joint exercises with South Korea is nothing less than cutting slack for thousands of North Korean troops who will support Putin's systematic abduction, torture, rape, and murder of innocent Ukrainian citizens."
Washington-based Korean Peninsula experts predicted that Chairman Kim will deliberate on Trump's latest proposal while biding his time for an opportunity.
Victor Cha, Korea Chair at the Washington-based think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), expected during an emergency virtual roundtable, "I think North Korea will not respond right away, but will buy time and wait a bit longer."
At the same time, he predicted, "Kim Jong-un is eyeing opportunities for dialogue with the U.S. and Japan," adding, "Kim Jong-un will try to proceed with all of this without engaging with South Korea at all."
Reported by Jung Da-eun | Video by Lee Da-in | Design by Lee Jung-ju | Produced by SBS Digital News
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