US President Donald Trump mentioned South Korea again Monday, saying has not received help from either European or Asian allies in the Middle East war.
According to CNN and other sources, Trump said at a press conference at the White House, "We did not receive any help from North Atlantic Treaty Organization in the Middle East war." He added, "Not only NATO, but also South Korea, Australia and Japan did not help us."
Trump also said, "We have 45,000 troops stationed in a very dangerous area, right next to Kim Jong-un, who possesses a significant number of nuclear weapons."
The size of US Forces Korea is around 28,500 troops, though he again referred to it as 45,000.
As to NATO, he said, "NATO is a paper tiger. They did not help us at all when we needed them."
He praised countries including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait, calling them excellent partners.
Previously, Trump had expressed dissatisfaction with NATO and mentioned South Korea, Japan and China together during a speech at an Easter luncheon event on April 1. Although the White House later deleted video of that speech, he again voiced complaints about Korea and others at the press conference five days later.
At the event, Trump said he has a very good relationship with North Korean leader Kim and that Kim likes him.
"If any (US) president had done the job properly, Kim would not have nuclear weapons now," he added. "They were afraid to do the job properly."
(Translated and edited with ChatGPT/The Korea Herald)
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