President Trump announced Tuesday his administration will permit U.S. allies Japan and South Korea to purchase a higher-than-expected amount of high-tech military equipment as the countries move to contain North Korea.
“I am allowing Japan & South Korea to buy a substantially increased amount of highly sophisticated military equipment from the United States,” Trump tweeted Tuesday morning.
I am allowing Japan & South Korea to buy a substantially increased amount of highly sophisticated military equipment from the United States.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 5, 2017
The move comes days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered the test of a hydrogen bomb.
The White House said Monday Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in plan to “maximize pressure on North Korea using all means at their disposal.”
“President Trump also provided his conceptual approval for the purchase of many billions of dollars’ worth of military weapons and equipment from the United States by South Korea,” the White House said in a statement.
“Conceptual approval” is a nod toward the amount of time it takes to move purchases through the Foreign Military Sales process, which is handled by the State Department and the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, and then approved by Congress.
The U.S. has already deployed Terminal High Altitude Area Defense batteries in South Korea. Both countries are also customers for the tri-service F-35 program.
