U.S. expert: USFK plays significant role for U.S. interests

U.S. expert: USFK plays significant role for U.S. interests. November. 23, 2016 07:22. by Seung-Heon Lee ddr@donga.com. John J. Hamre, head of the U.S. Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Monday (local time) that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said U.S. military in Korea was dispatched in Korea for the sake of the Northeast Asian country, but that is not true.

At the keynote speech for a seminar jointly hosted by CSIS and Defense Acquisition Program Administration in Washington, Hamre said U.S. troops in Korea are there for the sake of U.S.' strategic reasons, and not just for defense of Korea, adding that the Korean Peninsula plays an important role for U.S. interests. A Republican, Hamre is a foreign security expert who had served as Deputy Secretary of Defense under the Bill Clinton administration.

Hamre added that though he feels anxious because of Trump's comments (during his campaign) that it is a gift for Korea, it is a good thing that Korea and the U.S. share a strong friendly pact, and that both countries have kept friendly ties and have overcome difficulties. On influence-peddling scandal surrounding President Park Geun-hye's longtime confidante Choi Soon-sil, he said though Korea also faces big difficulties, he hoped a new strong leader will emerge at the presidential election next year so that the Korea-U.S. alliance is firmly maintained.