What Trump’s cold shoulder toward South Korea means to our allies

President Trump’s decision to cut roughly in half the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises with South Korea, along with his desire for a fourth meeting with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, has caused considerable consternation among Washington’s key allies in the Far East.

On a visit to Australia, Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi indirectly reflected his unease with Trump’s decision when he stated, “As Japan faces the most severe and complicated security environment in the postwar era, the cooperation among Japan, the U.S. and South Korea is critical to the peace and stability of the region.”

Koizumi’s response to Trump’s action repeated almost verbatim the words of his introduction to the 2026 white paper “Defense of Japan,” in which he added, “In the Indo-Pacific, not only are China and North Korea further strengthening their military capabilities, China-Russia and Russia-North Korea are also reinforcing their cooperation.”

The white paper also stated that “North Korea’s military activities pose an even more grave and imminent threat to Japan’s national security than ever before.”

Koizumi’s Australian host, Richard Marles, said much the same thing, leaving no doubt that Australia has a starkly different view of North Korea from Trump’s. He observed that Canberra “is very concerned about North Korea’s nuclear program as well as its missile program, and we have consistently made that point.” And he termed South Korea “a critically important country,” for his country and for the trilateral relationship among Australia, Japan and South Korea.  

Left unstated........

© The Hill