South Korea’s President Denies Wrongdoing in a Growing Scandal

On foreign policy, Yoon — who has worked closely with Washington and Tokyo to solidify security cooperation in the face of North Korean threats — expressed optimism that the three-way partnership will continue to expand under Trump’s government. He said he wants to meet Trump and new Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba soon to coordinate policies.

During his previous presidency, Trump engaged in highly orchestrated nuclear summits with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un . Yoon noted that North Korea’s arsenal has significantly advanced since Trump’s diplomacy with Kim collapsed in 2019.

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Prospects for South Korea-U.S. relations under Trump “could depend on whether Yoon is able to strike up positive chemistry with Trump immediately during the transition and foster a close personal friendship to convince him to want to support and advance Seoul’s interests,” said Duyeon Kim, a senior analyst at the Center for a New American Security in Washington.

“This might be the only way to avert devastating consequences and surprises in the alliance relationship — including South Korean questions about Washington’s defense commitment — that we currently assume would happen based on Trump’s harsh rhetoric against allies and transactional style,” she said.

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