Esper, Former US Secretary of Defense, "Trump Repeatedly Advocated for Withdrawal of US Forces from South Korea"

Esper, Former US Defense Secretary, to Publish Memoir on the 10th
"Trump Belittled South Korea During Defense Cost-Sharing Negotiations"

Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper revealed in his memoir published on the 10th that former President Donald Trump repeatedly advocated for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from South Korea. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] Testimony has emerged that former U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly advocated for the withdrawal of U.S. Forces Korea. It was also claimed that in January 2018, during a period of heightened tensions between North Korea and the U.S., he attempted to issue an evacuation order for the families of U.S. Forces Korea but ultimately backed down.

Mark Esper, former U.S. Secretary of Defense, revealed these facts in his memoir "A Sacred Oath," published on the 10th (local time). He served as Secretary of Defense from July 2019 to November 2020 under the Trump administration.

In his memoir, former Secretary Esper wrote that at the beginning of the Trump administration, war between the U.S. and North Korea was a "real possibility." He claimed that in January 2018, when tensions between Trump and North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un were at their peak, an evacuation order for the families of U.S. Forces Korea was nearly issued.

He recalled receiving a phone call about "the president issuing an order that afternoon to evacuate all families of U.S. Forces Korea," saying, "I couldn't believe it. Did Kim Jong-un launch missiles at Hawaii? Were North Korean troops moving into the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)? Did they sink a U.S. naval vessel? Did they fire ballistic missiles at the U.S.? What on earth was going on?" Former Secretary Esper added that the warning later disappeared, he never received a clear explanation, but the order was canceled due to someone's persuasion.

According to former Secretary Esper, during the 2020 negotiations over the defense cost-sharing agreement for U.S. Forces Korea, Trump disparaged South Korea as "horrible to deal with," arguing that South Korea was overcharging the U.S. He introduced that Trump proposed a complete withdrawal of U.S. Forces Korea, but Secretary of State Mike Pompeo dissuaded him. When Pompeo suggested, "Let's make the withdrawal of U.S. Forces Korea a second-term priority," Trump smiled and said, "Yes, yes, second term."

Former Secretary Esper also revealed that Trump repeatedly complained about the U.S.-South Korea trade imbalance, saying, "They sell us Samsung TVs, and we protect them. That doesn't make sense." In response, Esper said he had to explain that "(the stationing of U.S. Forces Korea) is important not only for South Korea but also for the U.S." and that "continuing to monitor North Korea aligns with U.S. interests."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.