On South Korea, Trump has seriously miscalculated
According to a congressional aide and an administration official, the Trump administration has requested an approximate 400% increase in the amount South Korea contributes to the maintenance of United States forces in Korea -- the "Special Measures Agreement", CNN reported on Thursday. (Secretary of Defense Mark Esper has refused to confirm this figure, simply saying, "we have asked for a significant increase in the cost-sharing for our deployed troops".) After last year's talks ended with a one-year agreement, rather than the longer agreements successfully negotiated nine times starting in 1991, it was expected that the talks would be difficult -- but this increase is not the start of a serious negotiation.… Seguir leyendo »