Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy and Force Development Elbridge Colby, who is mentioned as a possible candidate for White House national security advisor if former President Donald Trump wins the U.S. presidential election in November, said, “Instead of using U.S. forces in Korea to keep China in check, Korea should consider its own nuclear armament.” “There is a need,” he said.
In an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo published on the 25th, former Deputy Assistant Secretary Colby said, “The top priority of the next U.S. administration’s foreign and security policy is to strike a military balance with China.”
Regarding the question of whether there is a possibility that the nature of the US military in Korea will change, he said, “If China wins in Taiwan, the Korean Peninsula could be next. “There is also a precedent during the Korean War,” he said, emphasizing that “US forces in Korea should gradually become oriented toward China, but should be in the nature of defending the Korean Peninsula only in the event of a joint attack by North Korea and China.”
He continued, “South Korea must reduce its expectations of conventional force support from the United States and defend the Korean Peninsula directly. “Even in the event of an emergency in Taiwan, South Korea will only protect the Korean Peninsula front,” he argued, “because it is clear that not only North Korea but also Russia will try to do something at the same time as China invades Taiwan.”
Regarding the question of whether this means that we can confront North Korea without the U.S. military, he said, “All cards, including South Korea’s independent nuclear armament, must be put on the table.” “The nuclear weapons of Britain and France are contributing to the deterrence power of the entire NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization),” he said. “(The United States’) nuclear non-proliferation policy has failed.” China and Russia have modernized their nuclear weapons, and North Korea and Iran also possess nuclear capabilities. Rather, we need to make more nuclear weapons to maintain the lagging nuclear balance,” he said.
He said, “Alliance is business. As former President Trump said, the United States prioritizes its interests, and Korea also prioritizes Korea’s interests, and this is reality. “If you view alliances only romantically, you will not be able to survive the confrontation with the enemy,” he said.
He continued, “The United States is not helping Korea. “Korea plays a role because it is important to U.S. security and to keep China in check,” he said, adding, “Trump’s view is completely correct.”
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary Colby emphasized several times that “allies must shoulder more of the burden.” Regarding the ongoing defense budget negotiations between Korea and the United States, he said, “Korea should spend more on defense.” However, he emphasized that “South Korea is a ‘star’ among allies in that it already has large-scale defense capabilities,” and that “more help is needed from allies such as Europe, Japan, and Taiwan.”
Tags: Trumps closest aide nuclear arming Korea .. Potential candidate White House national security adviser
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