Trump ups security demands on Japan and South Korea

US president blends security and trade demands to extract concessions

20190807N esper

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper walks by the Japanese honor guard ahead of a meeting with Japanese Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya on Aug. 7. © Reuters

RIEKO MIKI and TSUYOSHI NAGASAWA, Nikkei staff writers

TOKYO/WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that discussions have begun with South Korea to have the Asian ally pay more for the cost of maintaining U.S. troops there to guard against any threat from North Korea.

"South Korea has agreed to pay substantially more money to the United States in order to defend itself from North Korea," Trump wrote in a Wednesday morning tweet.

Sponsored Content

About Sponsored ContentThis content was commissioned by Nikkei's Global Business Bureau.