U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has nominated China hawk Elbridge Colby as the next undersecretary of defense for policy, a move that may signal plans to deemphasize North Korea issues and place greater onus on Seoul to counter Pyongyang.
A former defense official during Trump’s first term, Colby has argued that U.S. troops stationed on the peninsula need to focus more on threats from China and has suggested that Washington should even consider allowing South Korea to develop its own nuclear weapons to achieve parity with its nuclear neighbors.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has nominated China hawk Elbridge Colby as the next undersecretary of defense for policy, a move that may signal plans to deemphasize North Korea issues and place greater onus on Seoul to counter Pyongyang.
A former defense official during Trump’s first term, Colby has argued that U.S. troops stationed on the peninsula need to focus more on threats from China and has suggested that Washington should even consider allowing South Korea to develop its own nuclear weapons to achieve parity with its nuclear neighbors.
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