Trump Allies Assure Japan & SK On Cooperation In Any 2nd Term

Reuters reporting that according to five people familiar with the talks, allies of US presidential hopeful Donald Trump have sought to assure Japan and South Korea that the efforts of the Biden administration to boost trilateral relations will remain in place should Trump win another term in the White House. Fred Fleitz, a former chief of staff in Trump's National Security Council said that on trips to Japan in June, "I reassured them that the alliance will be strong, that Trump recognizes we have to work closely with our allies to defend their interests,".

• The stronger links between Tokyo and Seoul - if maintained - would likely play well into Trump's hardline stance with regards to China, both in terms of security in the Indo-Pacific and in de-risking the US economy and is supply chains.
• A tough US stance towards China is one of the few areas of policy overlap between the Biden and Trump campaigns in the election campaign.
• Trump became the first US president to step foot in North Korea during his time in office, seemingly preferring a less antagonistic stance (given Trump's aversion to US funding for SK and Japan in defence against Pyongyang). While the security situation in the region has become more tense in recent years, Seoul and Tokyo may feel some jitters over what a second Trump presidency could mean with regards to North Korea.