PARTISAN PRIMARIES AND NATIONAL SECURITY

Hello and welcome to Press Perspective for this Tuesday April 29th here in Seoul.

I'm Min Sun-hee.

Today we touch upon partisan preparations ahead of the June third presidential election and the pending tasks ahead on the security front.

For more I have Yang Chien-Hao a freelance journalist from Taiwan currently based here in Seoul.

Chien-Hao welcome back.

I also have Professor Kim Jae-chun at Sogang University joining our talk virtually with the pundit's take on today's topic.

Professor Kim it's a pleasure.

1) Chien-Hao, let's start with the result of the Democratic Party's primary that was revealed on Sunday.

2) And Chien-Hao, what's the latest with regard to the primary at the People Power Party?

3) Professor Kim, speaking purely as a scholar with all political inclinations aside, what do you suggest as a strategy for the Democratic Party in the upcoming election and why?

4) And Professor Kim, what do you propose as a plan for the People Power Party in this latest presidential race and why?

5) Chien-Hao, against the backdrop of partisan primaries, an American weekly news magazine says the U.S. recently prepared South Korea for a nuclear attack by North Korea. Do tell us more about this report and its relevance.

6) Professor Kim, what do you suppose are the implications of this latest training session? I mean, should we be worried about heightened provocations by Pyongyang going forward?

7) Chien-Hao, contrary to initial expectations, defense cost sharing was not included in the latest trade talks between Seoul and Washington. Now according to a U.S. military newspaper, pundits have warned against the linking of tariffs and troop costs. Do tell us more about this coverage.

8) Professor Kim, what are your prospects with regard to the fate of defense cost sharing between South Korea and the U.S. under the new administration at the White House and soon here in Korea? I mean, what would be a pragmatic approach to this issue?

All right.