Trump open to Tokyo and Seoul having nuclear weapons

WASHINGTON — U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump has said he is open to the idea of both Japan and South Korea developing their own nuclear weapons and would be willing to withdraw U.S. troops from their soil, the New York Times reported in its online edition on March 26.

In an interview with the major U.S. newspaper, the front runner for the Republican presidential nomination said that allowing the two countries to have their own nuclear arsenal would reduce pressure in the United States to come to their defense against North Korea and China.

The United States “cannot be the policeman of the world,” Trump said and suggested that Tokyo and Seoul would move in that direction anyway if Washington “keeps on its path, its current paths of weakness.”

Asked if he would consider removing troops from Japan and South Korea unless the two countries paid more to cover the costs of housing and feeding them, Trump said “yes.” “I would not do so happily, but I would be willing to do it,” the New York businessman and billionaire said.

He also said he would seek to renegotiate many fundamental treaties with American allies, possibly including a 56-year-old security pact with Japan, which he described as one-sided.