Trumps South Korea snub sows strife with an ally again

It’s hard to believe that Kim Jong Un is really this charming.President Trump touted his fond relationship with the North Korean dictator in a Truth Social post calling for scaling back a long-running annual military exercise with the South Koreans.“Based on my very good relationship with Kim Jong Un,” Trump wrote, “I am not happy with the fact that the United States has, long ago, agreed to participate in Joint Military Exercises with South Korea.”According to Trump, the exercises “send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile, to a Country that, as long as Donald J.Trump has been President, has been unthreatening and respectful.”Then he added that South Korea had recently declined to take a role in the Iran war — clearly irking Trump, as he subsequently explained to reporters at the White House. The joint exercises have been a key element of the US-South Korea military alliance for decades.They are meant to ensure that the two countries are prepared in the event of a North Korean assault, and perhaps now have an added importance given the experience North Korea has gained in high-intensity modern warfare by bolstering Russian forces in Ukraine.Much more important than the practical effect of Trump’s fusillade, though, is the signal it sends, yet again, that he is easily disenchanted with long-time allies whose friendship should be considered a strategic boon to the United States. Whether musing about making Canada the 51st state, briefly campaigning to take control of Greenland, imposing tariffs on friend and foe alike, or hammering NATO, Trump has been careless of the good will of our allies. They need us more than we need them, which means they are willing to put up with a lot — but sowing dissension unnecessarily is a foolhardy game at a time of growing international threats.South Korea has been a treaty ally since 1953, and is a wealthy, technologically advanced democracy that occupies strategically important ground in Northea...