President Donald Trump has renewed focus on his past relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un while discussing the United States’ military presence in South Korea, saying Washington maintains tens of thousands of troops on the Korean Peninsula as a deterrent against Pyongyang.
Speaking in an interview reported by Fox News, Trump said the United States keeps 45,000 soldiers in South Korea to protect against North Korea and its leader, Kim Jong Un. Trump argued that the military deployment serves American interests and reiterated that he has a strong personal rapport with the North Korean leader.
“We have 45,000 soldiers in South Korea to protect us from Kim Jong Un, who I get along with very well, as you know,” Trump said. “Do you notice he said very nice things about me?”
Trump then contrasted Kim’s remarks about him with the North Korean leader’s past comments about former President Joe Biden. According to Trump, Kim had spoken harshly about Biden during his presidency.
“He used to call Joe Biden a mentally retarded person,” Trump said. “He was so nasty to Joe Biden. It was terrible.”
Trump has frequently pointed to his personal diplomacy with Kim as one of the key foreign policy achievements of his administration. During his first term, Trump held a series of unprecedented meetings with the North Korean leader, including summits in Singapore and Vietnam, becoming the first sitting U.S. president to meet directly with a North Korean leader.
The latest remarks come amid renewed tensions in East Asia and growing debate in Washington over the future of the U.S. troop presence in South Korea. Trump has repeatedly argued that U.S. allies should contribute more toward their own defense and has questioned whether the current level of American military support overseas should continue. Read_More…