Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Thursday he is not concerned about the impact Donald Trump's potential reelection as US president could have on South Korea-US relations, given the American people's strong support for the alliance.
Han made the remark during a meeting with reporters at the government complex in the central city of Sejong amid speculation the Republican presidential nominee could threaten to reduce the US troop presence in Korea or raise trade barriers against the Asian ally if reelected in November.
"What I can say with certainty is that the cooperation system between South Korea, the US and Japan is really very firm," he said, referring to strengthened trilateral security cooperation under President Yoon Suk Yeol.
"There could be requests to contribute more in certain areas, but I don't think it will be a situation that we can't resolve through dialogue," he said, alluding to ongoing negotiations over cost-sharing for the upkeep of 28,500 US troops in Korea.
Han claimed the US Congress and the American people are in agreement that trilateral cooperation is a "win-win-win" situation.
"Everything is certain to end up in a way that is a win-win for all," he said. "So, I'm not greatly concerned about that."
On the possibility the US will increase tariffs on Korean goods, Han said protectionist trends in the US are more geared toward countries that are less open in terms of trade.
"They don't really have such thoughts about South Korea," he said. "On specific issues, there are things that we are slightly uncomfortable about with each other, but in general, our free trade agreement is working extremely well ... there won't be any big problems between us and the US." (Yonhap)
