CONCERNS OVER PRIORITY OF U.S. SOLDIERS IN S. KOREA

Welcome to Tuesday's edition of Press Perspective.

It's April 8th here in Seoul.

I'm Min Sunhee.

As the U.S. places priority on confronting China pundits believe the Trump administration may scale back its direct involvement in Europe in the Middle East and here in East Asia.

In other words the duty of deterring Russia may rest on NATO that of Iran on Israel and of North Korea on South Korea and perhaps Japan.

So what do the foreign press and local pundits think?

And to answer that question I have Kelly Kasulis Cho with The Washington Post.

Kelly welcome back.

I also have Professor Choi Hyun Jin at Kyung Hee University live on the line.

Professor Choi it's a pleasure.

1) Kelly, the Washington Post recently published an exclusive report about a secret Pentagon memo that has raised grave concerns here in South Korea about the role of American soldiers stationed on the Korean peninsula.

2) And now Kelly, what are the implications of this apparent shift in U.S. defense policy for South Korea keeping in mind its tensions with North Korea?

3) Professor Choi, how should the next South Korean leadership respond to tensions over Taiwan especially keeping in mind the reality that American soldiers here may be deployed to directly deter China?

4) Professor Choi, the former South Korean administration opted for strategic clarity with regard to its foreign policy, making "a bold diplomatic realignment" towards the U.S.

5) Kelly, the consensus here is that South Korea's diplomatic initiatives will differ tremendously depending on which political party becomes the ruling party this summer.

6) Professor Choi, there has been much question about the reliability of the Trump administration as a security partner especially following the dramatic showdown at the White House between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

7) Kelly, another priority of Pentagon under the Trump administration is reportedly pressure on South Korea to shoulder a greater burden of the cost of hosting American soldiers here on the peninsula.

8) Professor Choi, last month again, U.S. media floated the idea of South Korea developing nuclear weapons.

And that ends Tuesday's edition of Press Perspective.