After summit, questions remain on defense costs, alliance and N. Korea

The first summit between President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump concluded without incident, defying expectations of friction. After nearly two hours of talks at the White House, the two leaders presented a cordial front. However, analysts noted that significant questions remain unresolved, from how much Seoul will increase its defense spending to whether reshaping the bilateral alliance could eventually mean fewer American troops on the peninsula. Equally uncertain is how North Korea will respond to Trump’s pledge to reengage. For now, analysts said, the absence of explicit demands from Trump was significant in itself. Many had expected him to present Seoul with a hefty security bill to maintain the 28,500 American troops stationed on the Korean Peninsula, either by pressing for higher cost-sharing or by raising the prospect of reductions. But no such moment ever came. Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University, said the outcome was better than many had anticipated. “This summit took place on an uneven playing field, so [South] KoreaWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times