U.S. President Donald Trump shared on social media a column arguing that Korea should sell its domestically produced mid-range surface-to-air guided weapon "Cheongung-II," known as the "Korean Patriot," to Ukraine.
On the 4th (local time), President Trump shared on the social media platform Truth Social a column by Marc Thiessen published in the Washington Post (WP). The column's title is "How Trump can help Ukraine build its own Patriot missiles."
Thiessen is known as someone President Trump seeks advice from. In the column, he argued that even if Ukraine receives U.S. authorization to produce Patriots, it will take time to begin actual production, so more interceptor missiles are needed immediately.
He added, "To meet this urgent need, Trump should pressure Korea to sell M-SAM II (Cheongung-II), known as the 'Korean Patriot,' to Ukraine from its own stockpile."
Arguing the need to pressure Korea, Thiessen also mentioned recent pending issues in the U.S.-Korea relationship. He said, "Trump is angry that Korea refused to support the Strait of Hormuz," adding, "For Korea, there is no better way to improve the relationship, and this can also reduce the burden on the United States to provide interceptor missiles to Ukraine."
He also argued that selling Cheongung-II could help Korea's national interest. Because North Korean ballistic missiles are being used in the war in Ukraine, it could be an opportunity to test the Cheongung-II's real-world interception performance.
Thiessen added that this is "an opportunity for Korea to step up and prove it is a reliable ally."
President Trump shared only the column's title and L.I.N.C to Truth Social, adding no further explanation.
However, because President Trump typically shares coverage and op-eds on social media that are favorable to him or align with his position, some interpret his sharing of this column as a signal to pressure Korea to sell Cheongung-II to Ukraine.