[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] The Washington Post (WP) reported on the 17th (local time) that U.S. President Donald Trump mentioned withdrawing U.S. Forces Korea while insisting that South Korea should bear the cost of the missile defense system during an internal briefing in July 2017.
The briefing situation had already been mentioned in several books and reports dealing with the chaos of the Trump administration, and WP reported that the cost President Trump insisted South Korea should bear was $10 billion.
WP introduced the briefing held at the U.S. Department of Defense on July 20, 2017, in the new book "A Very Stable Genius," which will be published next week by two of its reporters. It was a meeting prepared for Defense Secretary James Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to explain to President Trump the post-World War II world order and ways to maintain the U.S.'s status.
Former Secretary Mattis used several charts to explain in detail how the U.S. military prevents terrorism and nuclear threats in Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, the Korean Peninsula, Syria, and other regions.
However, President Trump seemed annoyed by the classroom-like atmosphere and soon began to complain. WP reported that the first complaint was that South Korea should bear the $10 billion cost of the missile defense system.
This system was intended to intercept North Korea's medium- and short-range ballistic missiles to protect South Korea and U.S. Forces Korea, but President Trump suggested either withdrawing U.S. troops from the region or charging South Korea for the protection costs, WP added. It has been introduced in several books and media reports that President Trump insisted South Korea should bear the cost of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system during the July 2017 briefing and mentioned withdrawing U.S. Forces Korea early in his administration.
President Trump also publicly stated in an April 2017 interview that he informed South Korea it was appropriate for them to pay for THAAD, calling it a $1 billion system. After some twists and turns, an agreement was reaffirmed that the U.S. would bear the costs.
Meanwhile, the $10 billion figure mentioned in WP's article that day may represent the cost of THAAD over ten years. In Bob Woodward's book "Fear," the Watergate investigative reporter recounts a passage where President Trump expressed dissatisfaction with THAAD, saying "It might cost $10 billion over 10 years."
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