President Trump’s national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, asserted that a report mischaracterized his words about who will pay for the U.S.-provided anti-missile defense system being deployed in South Korea.
Reuters reported that McMaster, during a Sunday phone call with his South Korean counterpart, Kim Kwan-jin, said the U.S. will abide by their prior bilateral agreement and pay for the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system being installed in South Korea in response to North Korean agression. That could contradict what Trump said recently. The news outlet said it learned of the substance of the call from South Korea’s presidential office, and did not provide any quotes.
However, on “Fox News Sunday,” McMaster said the Reuters report was wrong.
“The last thing I would ever do is contradict the president of the United States,” McMaster said. “That’s not what it was. In fact, what I told our south Korean counterpart is until any re-negotiation that the deal is in place, we will adhere to our word.”
He said the U.S. is looking for “appropriate burden-sharing, responsibility-sharing” in South Korea, as it is in NATO.
“The question is what is the relationship on THAAD, on our defensive relationship going forward, will be renegotiated as it’s going to be with all of our allies,” McMaster said.
Trump on Thursday told Reuters that he wanted South Korea to pay the cost of the THAAD defense system. He estimated the cost to be $1 billion. “I informed South Korea it would be appropriate if they paid,” Trump said. He also said he is looking to scrap or renegotiate the “horrible” free-trade deal with South Korea.
Afterwards, Kim Ki-jung, foreign policy adviser to leading South Korean presidential candidate Moon Jae-in, said South Korea wouldn’t be able to pay for the system. “Even if we purchase THAAD, its main operation would be in the hands of the United States,” Kim told Reuters. “So purchasing it would be an impossible option. That was our topic when we were considering the options.”
