Category: Politics-US

Trump has executed his usual playbook of making an extreme demand and then settling on what he really wanted and everyone claims he backed down:

 U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday lowered “reciprocal” tariffs on South Korea and other trading partners to 10 percent in what he called a pause that will last for 90 days, while increasing duties on China to 125 percent following China’s retaliatory move.

In a social media post, Trump made the announcement as reciprocal tariffs went into effect on the day, with dozens of countries striving to negotiate deals over new levies. Last week, his administration unveiled 25 percent tariffs on South Korea, 24 percent on Japan and 20 percent on the European Union, to name a few.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

I wonder if these kids will get suspended for ditching classes or is the school supporting this?:

More than 100 high school students — the children of Navy parents and Defense Department employees — staged a half-hour walkout Friday morning to protest Pentagon policies targeting diversity programs. About 150 students at Nile C. Kinnick High School on Yokosuka, the headquarters of the U.S. 7th Fleet, circled the school courtyard, chanting and carrying banners.

“I love this school; I think one of its greatest strengths is its diversity,” said senior Chase Hassell, president of the student council. “I think we have such a great multicultural community, and I think that it’s important for the development of all children — not just us — to have experiences with different people of different beliefs and backgrounds,” Hassell told Stars and Stripes after the demonstration.

The protest pushed back on a Jan. 27 executive order by President Donald Trump ending diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, programs created under previous administrations.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Is it really taking advantage of America by producing a product in your own country and selling it to the U.S.? If making the product in the U.S. was cheaper than manufacturing it in Korea for example, these foreign companies would do so:

President Donald Trump’s nominee for commerce secretary accused South Korea and Japan on Wednesday of having “taken advantage of” America’s “good nature,” stressing the need to work together with the allies to bring their production to the United States.

Howard Lutnick, a preeminent businessman, made the remarks during a Senate confirmation hearing, pointing to steel products from Japan and appliances from South Korea, as he responded to a senator’s question over what he will do to foster an environment to encourage joint ventures with U.S. allies.

“Our great allies have taken advantage of our good nature, and they like steel in Japan and appliances in Korea … I mean, they’ve just taken advantage of us. It’s time for them to partner with us and bring that production back home,” Lutnick told the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Its official the former Fox News host, Pete Hegseth is now the Secretary of Defense. He has absolutely no experience with the Korean peninsula or the Far East in general. Hopefully he is a quick learner:

The Senate voted Friday to confirm former Fox News Channel host Pete Hegseth as the United States’ next defense secretary, after allegations of sexual misconduct and other issues had dogged President Donald Trump’s pick for the top Pentagon post.

The upper chamber approved Hegseth in a vote where Vice President J.D. Vance broke a 50-50 tie, clearing a hurdle to Trump’s efforts to fill his Cabinet to forge ahead with his America First policy agenda.

In November, Trump tapped Hegseth, an Army veteran with tours in Guantanamo Bay, Iraq and Afghanistan, to serve as his defense secretary, describing him as a “warrior for the troops and for the country.”

During a confirmation hearing earlier this month, Hegseth described North Korea as a “nuclear power” that poses a threat to global stability, while highlighting the need for U.S. allies to increase “burden sharing” in pursuit of what he termed “healthy” partnerships.

Hegseth is the author of the recent book titled “The War on Warriors,” which Trump said reveals “how we must return our Military to meritocracy, lethality, accountability, and excellence.”

He had been a host at Fox News for eight years. He is a graduate of Princeton University and has a graduate degree from Harvard University.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This was probably a pretty fun moment for the USFK troops that got to hear the President speak to them over a video teleconference:

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday held brief video-linked talks with American troops stationed in South Korea and asked them how North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been doing, as he attended a formal inaugural ball in Washington. (……..)

“How are we doing over there? How’s Kim Jong-un doing?” Trump said, apparently half in jest, while talking to the U.S. Forces Korea personnel based in Camp Humphreys, a sprawling U.S. military base some 65 kilometers south of Seoul. (…….)

In an apparent reference to the North Korean leader, Trump said the troops face “somebody with pretty bad intentions.”

“You would say that, although I developed a pretty good relationship with him, but he’s a tough cookie,” he said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

I wonder if the United States is going to see a reduction in pregnant Korean women coming to give birth so their sons can get American citizenship in order to avoid the ROK’s mandatory service requirement?

President Trump has been sworn in and interestingly there has been no provocations from North Korea yet to welcome him:

 New President Donald Trump vowed Monday to stop the United States from being “taken advantage of,” put “America first” and usher in a “golden age of America,” as he was sworn in as the nation’s 47th president. 

During his swearing-in ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, Trump, 78, underscored his America First credo as his second four-year term is expected to see a major shift in the U.S.’ approach to alliances, trade and other key issues. Vice President J.D. Vance was also sworn in.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Trump’s election victory has led to much speculation in South Korea that he will return to direct diplomacy with North Korea, target South Korean companies with trariffs, cause turbulence in the US-ROK alliance, and cause a drop in the Korean won. So what do ROK Heads think will happen on the Korean peninsula over the next four years with Donald Trump as President?

Nothing new here, just the continuation of Biden’s policies:

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris on Saturday touted the South Korea-U.S. alliance as a “linchpin” of security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and around the world, while underlining Seoul’s “sizable” contributions to the upkeep of the 28,500-strong U.S. Forces Korea (USFK).

Vice President Harris made the remarks in a special contribution to Yonhap News Agency, reiterating America’s “ironclad” security commitment to South Korea, vowing to preserve its global leadership and accentuating the importance of the bilateral alliance forged in blood during the 1950-53 Korean War.

Titled “Let’s Go Forward, Together: Creating a Prosperous Future for Korean Americans,” her exclusive contribution is the first of its kind to a South Korean media outlet in this year’s election cycle. It came just days ahead of the U.S. presidential election.

“In 2022, I stood at the DMZ and reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad commitment to the defense of South Korea. I know our alliance has been a linchpin of security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and around the world,” she wrote, recalling her trip to the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas.

“Trump, by contrast, is demanding that South Korea pay $10 billion a year to host our troops despite its already sizable contributions — disparaging our alliance and disregarding America’s standing in the Indo-Pacific,” she added as she is set to face off against her Republican rival in Tuesday’s showdown.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.