Can the U.S.-South Korea Relationship Withstand This?

Over the past few weeks the world has watched from the sidelines as Donald Trump has directed his strongest rhetoric at North Korea. In response to news that Pyongyang has created a miniaturized nuclear weapon, he threatened that the regime will be met “with fire, fury and frankly power the likes of which this world has never seen before.” While this shocked many, the President later said this statement may not have gone far enough, adding that “Military solutions are now fully in place, locked and loaded, should North Korea act unwisely.” Amidst these statements — and US practise runs of long-range bombers over the Korean peninsula — North Korea has threatened to fire missiles into waters near Guam, an American territory in the Western Pacific ocean. But where does South Korea stand in all this?