South Koreans question Washington’s commitment to the alliance when President Donald J. Trump demanded that excessive money to keep American troops in the country. They looked on in disbelief as the United States led a chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan last year.
And seeing Washington’s failure to thwart Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, they wondered if the United States would stop North Korea from invading the South, especially at the risk of leaving American cities and military bases in the Asia-Pacific region more vulnerable to nuclear power. Attack
“We no longer see global American leadership. Instead, we would rather call it stupid and helpless, “said Li Sang-min, a senior lawmaker affiliated with the ruling Democratic Party, at a parliamentary hearing in February.” Whether to rely on the United States. “
Both Koreans see themselves as a small nation that has suffered numerous attacks and has been occupied and divided by foreign forces. A simple Korean proverb suggested: “Don’t trust the Americans and don’t be deceived by the Soviets, the Japanese will wake up again and the Chinese will kill you – Koreans, beware!”
Last week, Ukrainian officials warned that Russia could try to divide their country after Korea split after World War II.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called his nuclear arsenal a “precious sword” that will always protect his country from foreign invaders. “We must be strong,” Mr Kim said after resuming intercontinental ballistic missile tests in March. Only “preventing nuclear war” will protect North Korea from “all threats and blackmail from the imperialists.”
A few days ago, a similar idea was popular in South Korea. In the 1990s, a novel entitled “The Rose of Sharon Blooms Again” became a fugitive bestseller, a plotline promoting nuclear nationalism.
