Foreign News

South Korea’s new president has a Trump-shaped crisis to avert

Published

8 months ago

2025/06/4

Priyan

Lee campaigned on the promise that he would strengthen South Korea's democracy and unite the country after a divisive and tumultuous six months [BBC]

South Korea’s new president, Lee Jae-myung, has secured a storming victory, but his honeymoon will barely last the day.

The former opposition leader is not getting to enjoy the two-month transition period usually afforded to new leaders, so they can build their team and nail down their vision for the country.

Instead he is entering office immediately, to fill the hole left by the impeachment of the former president, Yoon Suk Yeol, who last December tried and failed to bring the country under martial law.

In electing Lee, with almost 50% of the vote , South Koreans have vehemently rejected the military dictatorship that was almost forced upon them. Lee campaigned on the promise that he would strengthen South Korea’s democracy and unite the country, after a divisive and tumultuous six months.

But that will have to wait. First, he has a Donald Trump shaped crisis to avert.

In the coming months, Trump has the power to destabilise South Korea’s economy, its security, and its volatile relationship with North Korea.

South Koreans were dismayed when Trump slapped 25% tariffs on all Korean imports in April, after already hitting the country with aggressive tariffs on its core industries – steel and cars. They had assumed that being longstanding military allies from the days of the Korean War, and having a free-trade agreement with the US, would spare them.

If these tariffs take effect “they could trigger an economic crisis”, a seasoned advisor to Lee’s Democratic Party, Moon Chung-in, said.

Before Trump’s announcements, South Korea’s economy was already slowing down. The martial law chaos constricted it further. Then, in the first quarter of this year, it contracted. Fixing this has been voters’ number one demand, even above fixing their beleaguered democracy.

Getty Images Lee Jae-myung addresses a crowd of reporters on the night of former President Yoon's martial law declaration. He's wearing a navy suit and blue tie, and he is surrounded by other men and women in suits. — *Lee Jae-myung is entering office immediately, after the impeachment of the former president Yoon Suk Yeol [BBC]*

But without a president, talks with Trump have been on hold. They cannot be put off any longer.

And there is much more than South Korea’s economy at stake in these negotiations.

The US currently guarantees South Korea’s security, by promising to come to its defence with both conventional and nuclear weapons, were it to be attacked by its nuclear-armed neighbour, North Korea. As part of this deal there are 28,500 US troops stationed in the country.

Yet Trump has made clear he does not plan to differentiate between trade and security when negotiating with South Korea, signalling that Seoul is not pulling its weight in either area.

In a post on his Truth Social platform in April, Trump said that during initial tariff talks with South Korea he had “discussed payment for the big time military protection we provide”, calling it “beautiful and efficient one-stop shopping”.

This approach makes Seoul uniquely vulnerable.

Evans Revere, a former senior US diplomat based in Seoul, fears a crisis is coming. “For the first time in our lifetime we have a US president who does not feel a moral and strategic obligation towards Korea”.

In his first term as president, Trump questioned the value of having US forces stationed in Korea and threatened to withdraw them unless Seoul paid more to have them. It seems likely he will demand more money this time around.

Seoul may not want to pay more, but it can afford to. A bigger problem is that Trump’s calculations, and that of his defence department, seem to have changed. This is no longer just about the money. Washington’s top priority now in Asia is not just stopping North Korea attacking the South, it is also to contain China’s military ambitions in the region and against Taiwan.

*The US currently guarantees South Korea’s security, with 28,500 US troops stationed there [BBC]*

Last year, a now senior US defence official, Elbridge Colby, said that South Korea was going to have to take “overwhelming responsibility for its own self-defence against North Korea”, so the US could be ready to fight China.

One option is that the troops stationed here would switch their focus to constraining China. Another, touted by acouple of US defence officials last month, is that thousands of soldiers would be removed from the peninsula altogether and redeployed, and that Seoul’s military would also have to play a role in deterring Beijing.

Not only could this put South Korea in a dangerous military predicament, but it would also create a diplomatically difficult one.

President Lee, who historically has been sceptical of Korea’s alliance with the US, wants to use his presidency to improve relations with China, South Korea’s powerful neighbour and trading partner. He has stated several times that South Korea should stay out of a conflict between China and Taiwan.

“We must keep our distance from a China-Taiwan contingency. We can get along with both”, he said during a televised debate last month.

The political advisor Mr Moon, who once served as national security advisor, reiterated Lee’s concerns. “We are worried about America abandoning us, but at the same time we are worried about being entrapped in American strategy to contain and encircle China”, he said. “If the US threatens us, we can let [the forces] go”, he said.

For Mr Revere, the former US diplomat, this combination of Lee, Trump and China threatens to create “the perfect storm”. “The two leaders may find themselves on very different pages and that could be a recipe for a problematic relationship. If this plays out, it would undermine peace and stability in North East Asia”.

In Pyongyang, Kim Jong Un will no doubt be watching closely, keen to exploit the shifting ground. His nuclear weapons programme is more dangerous than ever, and nothing or no-one has been able to convince him to wind it down – including Donald Trump who, during his first term, was the first US president to ever meet a North Korean leader.

Since returning to office Trump has indicated he would like to resume talks with Kim, which ended without agreement in 2019. In Seoul, there is real concern that this time the pair could strike a deal that is very bad for South Korea.

The fear is that Trump would take an “America first” approach, and ask Kim to stop producing his intercontinental ballistic missiles that threaten the US mainland, without addressing the multiple short-range nuclear weapons pointed at Seoul. And in return, Kim could demand a high price.

*Donald Trump was the first US president to ever meet a North Korean leader [BBC]*

Kim has far more leverage than he did in 2019. He has more nuclear warheads, his weapons are more advanced, and the sanctions that were supposed to put pressure on his regime have all but collapsed, thanks largely to Vladimir Putin. The Russian leader is providing Kim with economic and military support in return for North Korea’s help fighting the war in Ukraine.

This therefore gives Kim the cover to make more audacious requests of the US. He could ask Trump to accept North Korea as a nuclear weapons state, and agree to a deal that would reduce Pyongyang’s weapons count rather than get rid of them altogether. Another of his requests could likely be for the US to remove some the security it provides South Korea, including the troops.

“North Korea is in the driver’s seat now. The only curve-ball is how much risk President Trump will take”, said Sydney Seiler, who was involved in the 2019 negotiations on the US side. “The idea there might be some sort of troop withdrawal [included in a deal] is really not that far-fetched”.

Mr Seiler stressed that the US would “not leave South Korea in the dust,” but advised South Korea’s new president to “establish a relationship with Trump early on”, and be clear they expect to be part of any process, if talks materialize.

The new president must move quickly on all fronts, added Mr Revere, arguing that Lee’s first homework assignment should be to come up with a list of 10 reasons why South Korea is an indispensable partner and why American dollars are being well spent; reasons that can convince a skeptical and transactional Trump.

*Seoul is hoping it can use its shipbuilding expertise to convince the US it is a valuable partner [BBC]*

One Ace card South Korea is hoping to play is its shipbuilding prowess. It builds more vessels than any other country bar China, which is now the world’s dominant ship builder and home to the largest naval fleet. This is a frightening prospect for the US whose own industry and navy are in decline.

Last month I visited South Korea’s flagship shipyard in Ulsan on the south coast – the largest in the world – where Hyundai Heavy Industries builds 40-50 new ships a year, including naval destroyers. Sturdy cranes slotted together sheets of metal, creating vessels the size of small villages.

Seoul is hoping it can use this expertise to build, repair and maintain warships for the US, and in the process convince Washington it is a valuable partner.

“US shipbuilding difficulties are affecting their national security”, said Jeong Woo Maan, head of strategy for Hyundai’s naval and ship unit. “This is one of the strongest cards we have to negotiate with”.

In his campaign for president, Lee Jae-myung declared he did not want to rush into any agreements with Trump. Now in office, he could quickly find himself without this luxury.

***[BBC]***

Getty Images US troops in camouflage uniform and carrying rifles marching in a single file. Behind them is a row of South Korean and US flags. — *Lee Jae-myung is entering office immediately, after the impeachment of the former president Yoon Suk Yeol [BBC]*

But without a president, talks with Trump have been on hold. They cannot be put off any longer.

And there is much more than South Korea’s economy at stake in these negotiations.

The US currently guarantees South Korea’s security, by promising to come to its defence with both conventional and nuclear weapons, were it to be attacked by its nuclear-armed neighbour, North Korea. As part of this deal there are 28,500 US troops stationed in the country.

Yet Trump has made clear he does not plan to differentiate between trade and security when negotiating with South Korea, signalling that Seoul is not pulling its weight in either area.

In a post on his Truth Social platform in April, Trump said that during initial tariff talks with South Korea he had “discussed payment for the big time military protection we provide”, calling it “beautiful and efficient one-stop shopping”.

This approach makes Seoul uniquely vulnerable.

Evans Revere, a former senior US diplomat based in Seoul, fears a crisis is coming. “For the first time in our lifetime we have a US president who does not feel a moral and strategic obligation towards Korea”.

In his first term as president, Trump questioned the value of having US forces stationed in Korea and threatened to withdraw them unless Seoul paid more to have them. It seems likely he will demand more money this time around.

Seoul may not want to pay more, but it can afford to. A bigger problem is that Trump’s calculations, and that of his defence department, seem to have changed. This is no longer just about the money. Washington’s top priority now in Asia is not just stopping North Korea attacking the South, it is also to contain China’s military ambitions in the region and against Taiwan.

*The US currently guarantees South Korea’s security, with 28,500 US troops stationed there [BBC]*

Last year, a now senior US defence official, Elbridge Colby, said that South Korea was going to have to take “overwhelming responsibility for its own self-defence against North Korea”, so the US could be ready to fight China.

One option is that the troops stationed here would switch their focus to constraining China. Another, touted by acouple of US defence officials last month, is that thousands of soldiers would be removed from the peninsula altogether and redeployed, and that Seoul’s military would also have to play a role in deterring Beijing.

Not only could this put South Korea in a dangerous military predicament, but it would also create a diplomatically difficult one.

President Lee, who historically has been sceptical of Korea’s alliance with the US, wants to use his presidency to improve relations with China, South Korea’s powerful neighbour and trading partner. He has stated several times that South Korea should stay out of a conflict between China and Taiwan.

“We must keep our distance from a China-Taiwan contingency. We can get along with both”, he said during a televised debate last month.

The political advisor Mr Moon, who once served as national security advisor, reiterated Lee’s concerns. “We are worried about America abandoning us, but at the same time we are worried about being entrapped in American strategy to contain and encircle China”, he said. “If the US threatens us, we can let [the forces] go”, he said.

For Mr Revere, the former US diplomat, this combination of Lee, Trump and China threatens to create “the perfect storm”. “The two leaders may find themselves on very different pages and that could be a recipe for a problematic relationship. If this plays out, it would undermine peace and stability in North East Asia”.

In Pyongyang, Kim Jong Un will no doubt be watching closely, keen to exploit the shifting ground. His nuclear weapons programme is more dangerous than ever, and nothing or no-one has been able to convince him to wind it down – including Donald Trump who, during his first term, was the first US president to ever meet a North Korean leader.

Since returning to office Trump has indicated he would like to resume talks with Kim, which ended without agreement in 2019. In Seoul, there is real concern that this time the pair could strike a deal that is very bad for South Korea.

The fear is that Trump would take an “America first” approach, and ask Kim to stop producing his intercontinental ballistic missiles that threaten the US mainland, without addressing the multiple short-range nuclear weapons pointed at Seoul. And in return, Kim could demand a high price.

*Donald Trump was the first US president to ever meet a North Korean leader [BBC]*

Kim has far more leverage than he did in 2019. He has more nuclear warheads, his weapons are more advanced, and the sanctions that were supposed to put pressure on his regime have all but collapsed, thanks largely to Vladimir Putin. The Russian leader is providing Kim with economic and military support in return for North Korea’s help fighting the war in Ukraine.

This therefore gives Kim the cover to make more audacious requests of the US. He could ask Trump to accept North Korea as a nuclear weapons state, and agree to a deal that would reduce Pyongyang’s weapons count rather than get rid of them altogether. Another of his requests could likely be for the US to remove some the security it provides South Korea, including the troops.

“North Korea is in the driver’s seat now. The only curve-ball is how much risk President Trump will take”, said Sydney Seiler, who was involved in the 2019 negotiations on the US side. “The idea there might be some sort of troop withdrawal [included in a deal] is really not that far-fetched”.

Mr Seiler stressed that the US would “not leave South Korea in the dust,” but advised South Korea’s new president to “establish a relationship with Trump early on”, and be clear they expect to be part of any process, if talks materialize.

The new president must move quickly on all fronts, added Mr Revere, arguing that Lee’s first homework assignment should be to come up with a list of 10 reasons why South Korea is an indispensable partner and why American dollars are being well spent; reasons that can convince a skeptical and transactional Trump.

*Seoul is hoping it can use its shipbuilding expertise to convince the US it is a valuable partner [BBC]*

One Ace card South Korea is hoping to play is its shipbuilding prowess. It builds more vessels than any other country bar China, which is now the world’s dominant ship builder and home to the largest naval fleet. This is a frightening prospect for the US whose own industry and navy are in decline.

Last month I visited South Korea’s flagship shipyard in Ulsan on the south coast – the largest in the world – where Hyundai Heavy Industries builds 40-50 new ships a year, including naval destroyers. Sturdy cranes slotted together sheets of metal, creating vessels the size of small villages.

Seoul is hoping it can use this expertise to build, repair and maintain warships for the US, and in the process convince Washington it is a valuable partner.

“US shipbuilding difficulties are affecting their national security”, said Jeong Woo Maan, head of strategy for Hyundai’s naval and ship unit. “This is one of the strongest cards we have to negotiate with”.

In his campaign for president, Lee Jae-myung declared he did not want to rush into any agreements with Trump. Now in office, he could quickly find himself without this luxury.

***[BBC]***

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Foreign News

Portugal elects Socialist Party’s Seguro as president in landslide

Published

9 hours ago

2026/02/9

Priyan

Presidential candidate Antonio Jose Seguro, of the centre-left Socialist Party, waves to the crowd during a campaign rally ahead of the February 8 presidential election, in Lisbon, on February 5, 2026 [Aljazeera]

Antonio Jose Seguro of the centre-left Socialist Party has secured a landslide victory and a five-year term as Portugal’s president in a run-off vote, beating his far-right, anti-establishment rival, Andre Ventura, according to partial results.

With 95 percent of votes counted, 63-year-old Seguro has garnered 66 percent. Ventura trailed at 34 percent, still likely to secure a much stronger result than the 22.8 percent his anti-immigration Chega party achieved in last year’s general election. Ballots in large cities such as Lisbon and Porto are counted towards the end.

Two exit polls have placed Seguro in the 67-73 percent range, and Ventura at 27-33 percent.

A succession of storms in recent days has failed to deter voters, with turnout at about the same level as in the first round on January 18, even though three municipal councils in southern and central Portugal had to postpone voting by a week due to floods. The postponement affected some 37,000 registered voters, or about 0.3 percent of the total, and is unlikely to influence the overall result.

Portugal’s presidency is a largely ceremonial role, but it holds some key powers, including the ability to dissolve parliament under certain circumstances.

Ventura, 43, who had trailed Seguro in opinion polls, had argued that the government’s response to the fierce gales and floods was “useless” and called for the entire election to be postponed.

However, the authorities rejected the demand.

Seguro, during his last campaign rally on Friday, accused Ventura of “doing everything to keep the Portuguese from turning out to vote”.

Despite his loss on Sunday, Ventura, a charismatic former television sports commentator, can now boast increased support, reflecting the growing influence of the far right in Portugal and much of Europe. He is also the first extreme-right candidate to make it through to a run-off vote in Portugal.

Meanwhile, Seguro has cast himself as the candidate of a “modern and moderate” left, who can actively mediate to avert political crises and defend democratic values. He received backing from prominent conservatives after the first round amid concerns over what many see as Ventura’s populist, hardline tendencies.

But Prime Minister Luis Montenegro – whose minority centre-right government has to rely on support from either the Socialists or the far right to get legislation through parliament – declined to endorse either candidate in the second round.

While the role is largely ceremonial, the head of state has the power to dissolve parliament and call early elections.

The new president will succeed outgoing conservative Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa in early March.

[Aljazeera]

Foreign News

Washington Post chief executive steps down after mass lay-offs

Published

1 day ago

2026/02/8

Priyan

Will Lewis speaks to the staff and employees of the Washington Post in Washington, DC on November 06, 2023. [Cricinfo]

The chief executive of the Washington Post is stepping down, the newspaper has announced, days after overseeing mass lay-offs.

William Lewis said it was the right time to leave, saying in a message to staff that was shared online that “difficult decisions” had been made to ensure the paper’s future.

On Wednesday the newspaper announced it was cutting a third of its workforce, dramatically scaling back its coverage of sport and international news.

The decision was condemned by many journalists and prompted criticism of the Post’s billionaire owner, Jeff Bezos. Executive editor Matt Murray said the cuts would bring “stability”.

Jeff D’Onofrio, who joined as chief financial officer of the newspaper last year, will serve as acting publisher and CEO, the Post said as it announced Lewis’s departure.

A former Dow Jones chief executive and publisher of the Wall Street Journal, Lewis was appointed to the role at the Washington Post in 2023.

He has faced criticism from subscribers and employees as he tried to reverse financial losses at the daily.

Hundreds protested in front of the paper’s headquarters in Washington DC on Thursday after the mass lay offs, which included the paper’s entire Middle East staff and its Kyiv-based Ukraine correspondent.

Marty Baron, the Post’s executive editor until 2021, said the cuts ranked “among the darkest days in the history of one of the world’s greatest news organisations”.

The departure of Lewis marks the latest upheaval for the leading US newspaper, which has seen a series of staff cuts and controversial editorial decisions in recent years.

Reuters Jeff Bezos speaks in front of a microphone — *Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, acquired the Washington Post in 2013. [BBC]*

Shortly before the 2024 US presidential election, Bezos, the founder of Amazon, broke with decades of tradition by deciding the newspaper would not endorse a presidential candidate.

The newspaper had endorsed a candidate in most presidential elections since the 1970s – all of whom had been Democrats.

The move caused widespread criticism and led to the loss of tens of thousands of subscribers.

Meanwhile, the opinion editor resigned in February last year when Bezos decided to focus the paper’s comment section on “personal liberties and free markets”.

Bezos, who acquired the newspaper in 2013, said pieces opposing those views would not be published.

***[BBC]***

Foreign News

King Charles to host Nigeria’s first UK state visit in 37 years

Published

1 day ago

2026/02/8

Priyan

King Charles (left) will host Nigerian President Bola Tinubu (right) in March [BBC]

King Charles III and Queen Camilla will host Nigeria’s president in the country’s first state visit to the UK in 37 years, Buckingham Palace has announced.

Bola Tinubu and First Lady Oluremi Tinubu have accepted an invitation to be guests of the King at Windsor Castle from 18 to 19 March.

State visits are considered a form of soft-power diplomacy, using the pomp of royal hospitality to strengthen relations with important international partners.

The last Nigerian state visit to the UK took place in 1989, when military ruler Gen Ibrahim Babangida travelled to meet the late Queen Elizabeth II for a four-day trip.

Although this will be Tinubu’s first formal state visit to the UK, he has already met the King since taking office following Nigeria’s disputed election in 2023.

Tinubu and his wife were received at Buckingham Palace in September 2024 and also held a bilateral meeting with the King on the sidelines of the COP28 summit in Dubai.

But a state visit allows for ceremonial pageantry aimed at elevating the occasion and demonstrating the importance with which the UK views those visiting.

The visit comes at a time of improving diplomatic and economic links between the UK and Nigeria – with trade between the two worth more than £8bn in the year to October, government figures show. This makes the African nation one of the UK’s most important partners in the continent.

In 2024, the two countries signed a new trade and investment partnership designed to expand opportunities for business.

The agenda for the March visit has not been disclosed, nor details of the events planned for it – but state visits typically include carriage processions and a state banquet, and usually coincide with visiting leaders having political meetings.