Washington DC: US President Donald Trump said South Korean President Lee Jae Myung declined his request for assistance in a US military operation against Iran, questioning why Washington should continue spending billions of dollars to protect Seoul from North Korea.
Speaking to reporters, Trump said he called the South Korean President and asked whether he would be willing to "give us a little hand" with Iran, while stressing that the US, however, did not need assistance.
Also read: Donald Trump calls for US-South Korea drills to be substantially reduced
"We don't need help with Iran. But if you'd like to give us a hand with Iran," Trump said, recalling his conversation with the South Korean President.
According to Trump, the South Korean President responded, "No, thanks," prompting him to question the country's position given the US military presence on the Korean Peninsula.
"I said, 'Well, wait a minute, we have 39,000 soldiers over there guarding you from Kim Jong Un, your next-door neighbour, and you're not going to help us on a very easy military operation in Iran? That's strange," Trump said.
He added that the South Korean President reiterated that Seoul did not want to get involved in the Iran conflict.
Trump questioned the rationale behind continued US defence commitments, saying, "I said, 'Well, why are we involved in helping you?'"
The US President, however, said he still wanted to help South Korea, while criticising what he described as the financial burden on Washington of protecting allies.
"When you ask somebody, 'Would you like to give us a hand?' and they say, 'No, thanks,' and then we're guarding them from a country and paying ourselves billions--it's costing us billions and billions of dollars to protect not only them, but other countries," Trump said.
He also cited the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), saying the US spends "hundreds of billions" of dollars on the alliance.
South Korea on Monday said it is closely consulting with the United States on ways to make practical and military contributions to international discussions on a ceasefire in Iran and efforts to restore freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, according to South Korean Yonhap News Agency.
This comes after Trump instructed Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to "substantially reduce" joint military exercises with South Korea, citing his relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and describing the drills as costly and inappropriate.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he was "not happy" that the United States had previously agreed to participate in joint military exercises with South Korea.
"Based on my very good relationship with Kim Jong Un, of North Korea, I am not happy with the fact that the United States has, long ago, agreed to participate in Joint Military Exercises with South Korea," Trump said.
Trump described the exercises as costly and said they send a signal that is "totally inappropriate and hostile" to North Korea, which he claimed has been "unthreatening and respectful" during his presidency.
He said it was too late to cancel the exercises altogether but instructed Hegseth to substantially reduce them.
"Therefore, and based on the fact that it is too late to cancel, I have instructed Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to substantially reduce the Joint Military Exercises!" Trump said.
