South Korea's Yoon and Trump talk North Korea, Ukraine tensions
The President of South Korea, Yoon Suk-yeol, spoke on the phone with U.S. presidential election winner Donald Trump about various topics, including North Korea and its soldiers supporting Russia in the war against Ukraine, an official from Yoon's office announced late Wednesday night, Eastern Time.
During the 12-minute conversation, Yoon congratulated Trump on his victory. The two leaders agreed "to set a date and location at an early date," according to Kim Tae-hyo, the deputy national security advisor to the President of South Korea, who informed reporters.
They discussed Ukraine
The politicians covered topics related to their countries' economic and security ties. They talked about the situation in North Korea, focusing on its missile tests and nuclear armament, as well as its deployment of soldiers supporting Russia in the war against Ukraine.
Yoon later stated at a press conference that his government would cooperate with the new U.S. administration to build a "great partnership" in security and maintain peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Trump wins. "changes and unpredictability"
However, the South Korean news agency Yonhap reported, citing expert analyses, that Trump's second term could bring "changes and unpredictability" to the South Korea-U.S. alliance and pressure Seoul to bear greater costs of this partnership.
Trump, known for his "transactional view" on alliances, may press for renegotiating the agreement with South Korea and demand that Seoul covers a greater share of the costs for the approximately 29,000 American soldiers stationed in the country, according to Yonhap.
