An emergency debate will be held on 'Questions from Sohn Seok-hee'.
MBC's 'Questions from Sohn Seok-hee,' which skipped the Chuseok holiday, returns tonight (15th) at 9 p.m. The topic is hot after a week off. Over "Who is the United States to us?" Chung Dong-young Minister of Unification, who has recently drawn significant attention with his peaceful two-state theory for the Korean Peninsula, will participate along with diplomatic expert Rep. Kim Jun-hyung and Lee Hye-jeong, professor of political science and international studies at Chung-Ang University.
Trump's America no longer aspires politically to democracy nor advocates free trade economically. It has disrupted the trade order with a barrage of tariffs against the world and appears prepared to deploy the National Guard to repress immigrants domestically. These Trump policies are shaking the South Korea-U.S. relationship to its roots.
The United States unilaterally scrapped the Korea-U.S. FTA, and even demanded the $350 billion investment be paid upfront. The status of U.S. Forces Korea, the most important element of the Korea-U.S. alliance, is also being shaken by the United States itself. The U.S. Department of Defense has not hidden its intention to transform the character of U.S. Forces Korea from a lever for peace on the peninsula into a base against China. In this situation, how can we establish a new Korea-U.S. relationship?
Another variable is North Korea. Chairman Kim Jong-un showcased a new intercontinental ballistic missile at a large-scale military parade on Oct. 10, staging a demonstration that threatened both South Korea and the United States. Meanwhile, with the APEC leaders' summit in Gyeongju just two weeks away, Trump and Xi Jinping fought a strong-on-strong contest using tariffs and rare earths as weapons, respectively. What strategy should Korea pursue in the gap of this tense power confrontation?
Amid the rapidly changing world order since President Trump took office, how we can protect the interests of the Republic of Korea will be the focus of attention in the debate on 'Questions from Sohn Seok-hee,' which airs tonight at 9 p.m.<
[Photo] Provided by MBC.
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