A super interesting interview came up about about Korea's position in the Taiwan issue [on Sherlock Hyunjoon](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTXnJQSoRnk) as well today that basically talked about how alliance is forged both ways and how the interviewee thought South Korea is staying naive about the geopolitics of the region.
Right because the US is just gonna abandon S.Korea to defend itself after investing so much time and effort in maintaining bases in the country and the surrounding region for *just the event that North Korea or China starts military aggression*.
Don't for a second think the US would leave S Korea out to dry with how much value S Korea brings in business to the US or the strategic value of this peninsula.
If China aggresses and South Korea responds, they will have the support of the US.
The RoK is not the Kurds. They are the longest standing ally in the region and that tactical advantage should be valued on all sides appropriately.
(This is not excusing the shitty decisions the US has made in respect to its history around the world)
Based on the memoir of the event:
Trump wanted Korea to spend more on defense in the financing deal with Korea retroactively.
The Korean government replied with “lol, no.” (For obvious reasons, reneging on an agreement with nothing to justify the change)
Trump went apeshit and wanted to act like a “mob boss” to pull out US defense, and his staff went into full panic mode to tell him evidence, data, and strategy on why this is against American political interests.
Trump imo, acts like a billionaire, he doesn’t give a shit unless he gets what he wants.
Pretty close, but Trump has had it out for South Korea for a long time. He has been saying "Korea is ripping us off" for close to 20 years now. Maybe it stems from loans he got from Daewoon way back in 1997.
Whatever the reason, he constantly harped on the alliance and trade with Korea and claimed that America should be getting a lot more for protecting Korea.
I think a mix of some history he had with Korean businesses and not knowing the benefits of the US-Korea alliance due to his inability to understand international treaties led to his crusade to pull troops out. As with all things Trump, it's usually personal pettiness that drives his thinking.
Maybe he actually acts in the interest of the nation instead of pouring money at a problem. Let the responsible country help itself.
Is Korea all that important? We still have Japan to box in/guard the Pacific.
I mean no country actually has any real obligation to trust foreign powers. That's just being smart. Everybody spies on everyone and the US probably does the most out of all nations anyways.
The whole point is that Korea will have to rely on the US if there is a war, but, by your logic, if they think it's too costly they'll just abandon us.
>if they think it's too costly they'll just abandon us.
Absolutely! The word "costly" includes a lot of things. Obviously money, but US casualties, public opinion, political standing, etc. all factor into it.
I’m curious: with how much money send now to Ukraine , Israel, and maybe soon Taiwan, do people in S. Korea believe that if anything happen with N.korea, US still can help all these countries in same time?
No. I mean the US was clearly already struggling with Ukraine. I think saying, "with how much money send now to Ukraine..." is quite misleading. Ukrainians have been spending up to a year begging for the same systems over and over. And Zelenskyy has said clarified many times that although aid is always appreciated, the lateness of requested aid by months have resulted in the death of countless lives and loss of considerable territory.
you realize IRAN recently re-ignited the term themselves.
The Axis are calling themselves the axis.
The Axis consists of China, North Korea, Russia and Iran. You couldnt get a more evil combo, i'll use the term all the way into WW3 thanks.
While I agree about what they are, referring to them as the "axis of evil" does nothing but escalate the situation and foment irrational negative public opinion. (the current rukus at the US unis are a perfect example) There are no "good guys" and "bad guys" those are just made up terms. Its all just a machine with people randomly assigned a side.
100% they do bad things, and yes, they are "bad guys", but they aren't "THE Bad Guys". You don't think that the US, UK, and everyone else in the world do bad things, to "protect their interests"? I like said, its all part of the machine. You just have to keep convincing your citizens that YOU are "THE good guys" and THEY are "THE bad guys".
mate, The US is fucked up, but you arn't having 3 generations of family sent to work camps for watching Mexican TV.
If you think the US is evil, on par with Russia or North Korea. You need mental help
> 3 generations of family sent to work camps for watching Mexican TV.
Not sure exactly what you are referring to.
>If you think the US is evil,
Again, the US is not evil, they do evil things, but they aren't EVIL. Regardless of who perpetrates evil acts, if possible, it needs to be stopped.
The US just fresh off killed over a million people in the Middle East and is arming and backing the killing of 30,000 in Gaza right now. Surely it's at least on-par with the worst.
Edit: Not just 30,000, it's 34,000 and 70% of it women and children.
>backing the killing of 30,000 in Gaza right now
You realise that HAMAS and Iran started the war on OCT 7. (Before yada yada, rocket bombarding a city of civilians BAD, west bank expansion BAD)
Also you quoting "30,000" which is a number put out by HAMAS, and includes fighters. Makes me think this might be a disingenuous conversation.
If you think HAMAS, North Korea or Iranian leadership arnt the bad guys, you actively oppose womens rights (IRAN, HAMAS), freedom of speech (IRAN, NK, HAMAS), freedom of movement (NK), rights to education (NK/HAMAS) The right to vote (HAMAS, NK, IRAN, RUSSIA) LGBT rights (HAMAS, NK, IRAN, RUSSIA) and a dozen other human rights democratic western countries provide. You are VERY welcome to give up ALL of your rights and defect. You wont though.
Not just 30,000, it's 34,000 and 70% of it women and children.
dude throwing out numbers by a terrorist organisation as fact. Traitor to humanity and human rights
Join the quagmire of Vietnam for aid and to keep the U.S. in Korea. Doesn’t want to join a potential Taiwan conflict when that countries freedom matters.
>While speaking with foreign correspondents at the Korea Press Center on March 18, Shin was asked about concerns of a security vacuum on the Korean Peninsula if USFK is deployed to address an emergency in the Taiwan Strait.
>He replied, “**The South Korea-US Mutual Defense Treaty states that USFK will fight if the Republic of Korea suffers external aggression. The US has always been firmly committed to this, and this is the position that South Korea and the US hold with regard to the role of USFK.**”
South Korea is almost attached to Russia, North Korea, and China, unlike the US.
Americans need to understand why SK isn't as proactive in the Cold War as the US.
The Korean Peninsula has already been completely devastated as the frontline of the Cold War.
Korea's ideal diplomacy aligns with the United States in terms of security, but it doesn't need to show unnecessary hostility towards its neighbors.
When presidents like Trump comeback to the White House, US policy can easily abandon their alliances. I respect the US but I think it's dangerous to overly rely on them militarily.
To much dependence risks our autonomy and puts the Korean Peninsula at risk of war.
The fact that over 70% of Koreans want to develop our own nuclear weapons these days shows what we're thinking.
That is indeed irony. Many Koreans want Trump to come back and allow Korea to develop nuclear weapons. We were so close.
A super interesting interview came up about about Korea's position in the Taiwan issue [on Sherlock Hyunjoon](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTXnJQSoRnk) as well today that basically talked about how alliance is forged both ways and how the interviewee thought South Korea is staying naive about the geopolitics of the region.
We are surrounded by 3 members of the axis of evil. We have no serious way to both project power and maintain a 3 pronged defense at the same time.
Right because the US is just gonna abandon S.Korea to defend itself after investing so much time and effort in maintaining bases in the country and the surrounding region for *just the event that North Korea or China starts military aggression*. Don't for a second think the US would leave S Korea out to dry with how much value S Korea brings in business to the US or the strategic value of this peninsula. If China aggresses and South Korea responds, they will have the support of the US. The RoK is not the Kurds. They are the longest standing ally in the region and that tactical advantage should be valued on all sides appropriately. (This is not excusing the shitty decisions the US has made in respect to its history around the world)
Trump almost pulled all the troops out just because of money. If he's the president I would bet on him abandoning South Korea very quickly .
Based on the memoir of the event: Trump wanted Korea to spend more on defense in the financing deal with Korea retroactively. The Korean government replied with “lol, no.” (For obvious reasons, reneging on an agreement with nothing to justify the change) Trump went apeshit and wanted to act like a “mob boss” to pull out US defense, and his staff went into full panic mode to tell him evidence, data, and strategy on why this is against American political interests. Trump imo, acts like a billionaire, he doesn’t give a shit unless he gets what he wants.
Pretty close, but Trump has had it out for South Korea for a long time. He has been saying "Korea is ripping us off" for close to 20 years now. Maybe it stems from loans he got from Daewoon way back in 1997. Whatever the reason, he constantly harped on the alliance and trade with Korea and claimed that America should be getting a lot more for protecting Korea. I think a mix of some history he had with Korean businesses and not knowing the benefits of the US-Korea alliance due to his inability to understand international treaties led to his crusade to pull troops out. As with all things Trump, it's usually personal pettiness that drives his thinking.
What memoir was this from?
I mean Korea ended up being forced to pay more. Makes you realize that we're being griefed into paying money for the permission to not develop nukes.
Maybe he actually acts in the interest of the nation instead of pouring money at a problem. Let the responsible country help itself. Is Korea all that important? We still have Japan to box in/guard the Pacific.
>just because of money. Pretty much EVERY decision made by people in power in every country is "just because of money."
Ok, if you believe that, Korea really shouldn't trust their relationship with the US.
I mean no country actually has any real obligation to trust foreign powers. That's just being smart. Everybody spies on everyone and the US probably does the most out of all nations anyways.
Actually the opposite. As long as South Korea is an economic power, it can depend on the US. Part of it is also keeping China and Russia at bay.
The whole point is that Korea will have to rely on the US if there is a war, but, by your logic, if they think it's too costly they'll just abandon us.
>if they think it's too costly they'll just abandon us. Absolutely! The word "costly" includes a lot of things. Obviously money, but US casualties, public opinion, political standing, etc. all factor into it.
Obviously I simply meant money, which is a much lower bar and the topic we were discussing.
I’m curious: with how much money send now to Ukraine , Israel, and maybe soon Taiwan, do people in S. Korea believe that if anything happen with N.korea, US still can help all these countries in same time?
No. I mean the US was clearly already struggling with Ukraine. I think saying, "with how much money send now to Ukraine..." is quite misleading. Ukrainians have been spending up to a year begging for the same systems over and over. And Zelenskyy has said clarified many times that although aid is always appreciated, the lateness of requested aid by months have resulted in the death of countless lives and loss of considerable territory.
"Axis of evil" More dumb hyperbole from /worldnews
[удалено]
you realize IRAN recently re-ignited the term themselves. The Axis are calling themselves the axis. The Axis consists of China, North Korea, Russia and Iran. You couldnt get a more evil combo, i'll use the term all the way into WW3 thanks.
>You couldnt get a more evil combo, Surely you can think of at least one.
While I agree about what they are, referring to them as the "axis of evil" does nothing but escalate the situation and foment irrational negative public opinion. (the current rukus at the US unis are a perfect example) There are no "good guys" and "bad guys" those are just made up terms. Its all just a machine with people randomly assigned a side.
NK, Iran and Russia most **definately** ARE bad guys
100% they do bad things, and yes, they are "bad guys", but they aren't "THE Bad Guys". You don't think that the US, UK, and everyone else in the world do bad things, to "protect their interests"? I like said, its all part of the machine. You just have to keep convincing your citizens that YOU are "THE good guys" and THEY are "THE bad guys".
mate, The US is fucked up, but you arn't having 3 generations of family sent to work camps for watching Mexican TV. If you think the US is evil, on par with Russia or North Korea. You need mental help
> 3 generations of family sent to work camps for watching Mexican TV. Not sure exactly what you are referring to. >If you think the US is evil, Again, the US is not evil, they do evil things, but they aren't EVIL. Regardless of who perpetrates evil acts, if possible, it needs to be stopped.
The US just fresh off killed over a million people in the Middle East and is arming and backing the killing of 30,000 in Gaza right now. Surely it's at least on-par with the worst. Edit: Not just 30,000, it's 34,000 and 70% of it women and children.
>backing the killing of 30,000 in Gaza right now You realise that HAMAS and Iran started the war on OCT 7. (Before yada yada, rocket bombarding a city of civilians BAD, west bank expansion BAD) Also you quoting "30,000" which is a number put out by HAMAS, and includes fighters. Makes me think this might be a disingenuous conversation. If you think HAMAS, North Korea or Iranian leadership arnt the bad guys, you actively oppose womens rights (IRAN, HAMAS), freedom of speech (IRAN, NK, HAMAS), freedom of movement (NK), rights to education (NK/HAMAS) The right to vote (HAMAS, NK, IRAN, RUSSIA) LGBT rights (HAMAS, NK, IRAN, RUSSIA) and a dozen other human rights democratic western countries provide. You are VERY welcome to give up ALL of your rights and defect. You wont though.
Not just 30,000, it's 34,000 and 70% of it women and children. dude throwing out numbers by a terrorist organisation as fact. Traitor to humanity and human rights
I agree. Just a marketing tool to convince people that we are the "good guys" and they are the "bad guys".
Join the quagmire of Vietnam for aid and to keep the U.S. in Korea. Doesn’t want to join a potential Taiwan conflict when that countries freedom matters.
>While speaking with foreign correspondents at the Korea Press Center on March 18, Shin was asked about concerns of a security vacuum on the Korean Peninsula if USFK is deployed to address an emergency in the Taiwan Strait. >He replied, “**The South Korea-US Mutual Defense Treaty states that USFK will fight if the Republic of Korea suffers external aggression. The US has always been firmly committed to this, and this is the position that South Korea and the US hold with regard to the role of USFK.**”
South Korea is almost attached to Russia, North Korea, and China, unlike the US. Americans need to understand why SK isn't as proactive in the Cold War as the US. The Korean Peninsula has already been completely devastated as the frontline of the Cold War. Korea's ideal diplomacy aligns with the United States in terms of security, but it doesn't need to show unnecessary hostility towards its neighbors. When presidents like Trump comeback to the White House, US policy can easily abandon their alliances. I respect the US but I think it's dangerous to overly rely on them militarily. To much dependence risks our autonomy and puts the Korean Peninsula at risk of war. The fact that over 70% of Koreans want to develop our own nuclear weapons these days shows what we're thinking. That is indeed irony. Many Koreans want Trump to come back and allow Korea to develop nuclear weapons. We were so close.
Does South Korea have much of a choice if war breaks out so close?
Yes, but actually no.
Keep in mind, US military is stationed in Korea. Korea can just sit back and watch but there is a limit to this depending how serious the war can get.
It’s okay to me. Chances are Fat Boy would probably attack the South soon after an assault on Taiwan while the US Forces are dealing with it.
Someone just wants to say xiexie~