How Trump's 'America First' foreign policy will affect Korean Peninsula

Trump has made a political comeback and, as we just heard, has already begun to erase Biden's legacy soon after taking office.

To take a closer look at how the new administration's policy will affect the Korean Peninsula, our foreign affairs correspondent Bae Eun-ji joins us in the studio.

Eun-ji, let's first go over the comments Trump made on North Korea,.. just hours after he was sworn in.

Sure.

As he signed a series of executive orders in the Oval Office on his first day in office, Trump described North Korea as a "nuclear power" and said that Kim Jong-un would be glad to see his presidential comeback possibly hinting at his willingness to pursue talks with the North Korean leader.

Take a listen.

"I think North Korea turned out to be good. I was very friendly with him. He liked me. I liked him. We got along very well. They thought that was a tremendous threat. Now he is a nuclear power. But we, we got along. I think he'll be happy to see I'm coming back."

Last week, Pete Hegseth, who will serve as the incoming Trump administration's secretary of defense, also described the North's status as a "nuclear power," sparking quite a lot of concerns here in South Korea.

It's unusual for a U.S. president or a senior official to refer to North Korea as a nuclear power a term that could be interpreted as the United States acknowledging North Korea as a "nuclear weapon state."

Under the NPT an international treaty barring nuclear weapons development there are only five countries in the world that are officially recognized as a "nuclear weapon state."

They are: the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and China.

Other countries that possess nuclear weapons but have never signed the NPT are: India, Pakistan, and Israel.

But unlike North Korea, which pulled out of the pact in 2003 to continue to advance nuclear weapons, these three countries are not subject to international sanctions for having a nuclear arsenal.

So Trump's latest comments have led to speculation that Washington could be shifting away from its focus on "denuclearizing" North Korea and that it could seek to take actions in the form of a "small deal," such as nuclear disarmament or arms reduction.

2. Tell us about Trump's foreign policy, and how that's expected to impact relations with South Korea.

Trump's approach to foreign policy is largely focused on the idea of putting "America First."

And we're already seeing this impacting other parts of the world.

Trump earlier threatened to seize Greenland and the Panama Canal, possibly by military force and he also said he will impose 25-percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico in February.

So this idea of an "America First" policy has led to the biggest problem that South Korea is facing that Trump could renegotiate the deal on sharing the costs needed for American troops in Korea.

During his campaign, Trump said if he were at the White House, South Korea would be paying the United States 10 billion dollars a year, calling South Korea a "money machine."

If Seoul does not meet his demands,.. Trump will likely threaten to withdraw or downsize the number of U.S. troops which could significantly influence South Korea's security.

Pundits say that if there's even a slight economic gain, or a small aspect of America's interest is involved, Trump will disregard the international norms or procedures that we can typically think of and pressure other countries.

3. That sounds very concerning. How should South Korea be prepared for the new U.S. administration?

Experts I've talked to have all said the same thing: that it's not going to be easy especially since we're in a political situation where the country is left without a leader.

"I don't think it will be easy. Even if we come up with response plans, it's not going to be easy to implement them. What's different from Trump's first term is that our capabilities have improved, in areas such as advanced science and technology, defense industry and naval shipbuilding. But, even so, utilizing these capabilities is not going to be easy."

The South Korean government has repeatedly said it will establish a consultation channel with the new Trump administration very soon, and ensured that the public and private sectors will be working together to build a stable alliance with the United States.

Alright. We'll have to keep a close eye on America's policy changes under the new administration.

Thank you for the wrap up on that Eun-ji. We appreciate it.

Thank you.