US and Greenland Sign Deal to Expand Military Bases After Past Pressures

US President Donald Trump, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, and Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen shake hands after signing an agreement.

They met yesterday, September 22, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York where the UN General Assembly was being held, and agreed on a trilateral security pact.

Under this agreement, the United States will construct two large-scale military facilities in Greenland and significantly increase its stationed troops.

Trump emphasized that hostile nations that are not NATO members will no longer be able to establish a military presence or make sensitive investments in Greenland.

This means it has become difficult for Russia and China to build military bases or make economic investments in Greenland.

[Donald Trump / US President: "We're going to have a tremendous relationship, a secure relationship, and we look forward to it very much. We will be working closely and working hard."]

Greenland, which had suffered from overt pressure from Trump regarding territorial annexation, did not hide its sense of relief at concluding the agreement with the scope limited to expanding the US military presence.

[Jens-Frederik Nielsen / Prime Minister of Greenland: "We are deeply considering the people of Greenland, our rights, our livelihood, and our national development. This has been our top priority throughout the negotiation process, and it is a valuable achievement secured through today's signing."]

The US military bases to be built are expected to begin by reactivating a US military facility in southern Greenland that had been operational until the 1950s.

Foreign media outlets report that the remaining location will be around a Danish military patrol outpost in eastern Greenland.

While the controversy over the annexation of Greenland—which even caused fractures in the NATO alliance between the US and Europe—appears to be settled by the trilateral agreement, the possibility remains that new controversies could emerge over mineral resource development, as well as the costs and entities responsible for building the military bases.

(Reported by Kwon Yeongin | Video by Oh Young-taek | Produced by SBS Digital News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.