The Korea Herald

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Trump says he's against deal with N. Korea

By KH디지털2

Published : Sept. 10, 2015 - 08:54

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U.S. Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump said Wednesday he is against a deal with North Korea over its nuclear weapons program.

Trump made the brief comment when asked what he thinks about Pyongyang's nuclear weapons as he left a Washington rally opposing the landmark deal that the U.S. and five world powers reached with Iran to curb the Middle East nation's nuclear program.

"I would be essentially be against the deal," he said of a deal with Pyongyang without elaborating.

Trump also blasted the Iran nuclear deal as "so incompetently negotiated."

"We are led by very, very stupid people," Trump said of the administration of President Barack Obama during the rally at Capitol Hill. "We will have so much winning if I get elected, that you may get bored with winning."

Asked for comment on South Korea, Trump said, "I like South Korea."

Trump has drawn attention from South Korean media for his repeated criticism of the Asian ally for relying on the U.S. for its defense without giving the U.S. anything in return while making a lot of money.

About 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea to help defend the Asian ally from the communist North, a legacy of the

1950-53 Korean War that ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, which left the divided peninsula still technically at war.

Seoul has long shared the cost of stationing U.S. forces.

Last year, the two countries renewed their cost-sharing agreement, known as the Special Measures Agreement, with Seoul agreeing to pay 920 billion won ($886 million) for 2014 for the upkeep of the U.S. troops, a 5.8 percent increase from a year earlier.

Moreover, the American military presence on the peninsula is seen as in line with U.S. national interests in a region marked by a rising China.

Trump has emerged as a leading candidate for the Republican presidential nomination for next year's election as he made a series of unbridled remarks on immigration and other sensitive issues that apparently struck a chord with conservatives. (Yonhap)