Trump demands South Korea pay for US protection

According to CNBC, US President Donald Trump has criticized South Korea for not paying for the operation of missile defense systems on the Korean peninsula, especially the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system.

In March 2017, in the face of escalating tensions between the US and South Korea with North Korea, and in response to North Korea's nuclear missile testing activities, Washington asked Seoul to provide land for the urgent deployment of THAAD systems on South Korean territory.

In Iowa recently, the American businessman President said: "I announced, we have a very expensive system and we can shoot down missiles fired from North Korea to South Korea. That means we have protected South Korea, right? So why don't they pay for this?".

President Trump continued to criticize: "We are putting in place a system that we have to pay for ourselves at a cost of $1 billion. And we are having to defend a very rich country like South Korea for free."

THAAD, one of the world’s most advanced missile defense systems, can target and shoot down incoming missiles right out of the sky from a truck-mounted launcher. The U.S. Army currently has seven THAAD batteries deployed in South Korea and the Pacific island of Guam. The U.S. also has about 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea.

This is not the first time Mr. Trump has demanded money from South Korea to operate THAAD.

In April 2017, although the two sides had signed a bilateral agreement in advance, including a provision that the US would bear all costs for THAAD, the US President still demanded that Seoul pay Washington $1 billion.

The Blue House (South Korea) was very angry at this statement of Mr. Trump, the White House security advisor HR McMaster immediately had to reassure Seoul that Mr. Trump's statement was only made in a general context, in line with the expectation from the US in sharing the burden of defense costs with allies, not forcing South Korea to do so.

However, continuing to criticize South Korea this time shows that Mr. Trump still maintains his view that Seoul will have to pay for the missile shield that the US proactively requested to install on South Korean territory.

The South Korean media also showed a wave of information opposing Mr. Trump's statement, saying that if Washington pays for THAAD, sooner or later it will also demand funds for the tens of thousands of US soldiers stationed in South Korea.