US President-elect Donald Trump pledged his commitment to defending South Korea under an existing security alliance during a phone call with South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Thursday, her office said.
Trump had said during the election campaign he would be willing to withdraw US military stationed in South Korea unless Seoul paid a greater share of the cost of the deployment.
There are about 28,500 US troops based in South Korea in combined defense against North Korea.
Trump said: “We will be steadfast and strong with respect to working with you to protect against the instability in North Korea,” the presidential Blue House said.
The official newspaper of the North’s ruling Workers’ Party said on Thursday the US wish for North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program “is only a fantasy of a bygone era.”
Source: RT
