On November 7, 2017, ASPI’s Lindsey Ford spoke to MSNBC about how President Trump’s current visit to South Korea marks a critical moment in the U.S.-ROK alliance.

Ford points out that despite the president’s previous harsh messages to North Korea, he tempered his rhetoric while in Seoul. “Trump’s call for a diplomatic solution is a nod to what President Moon needs domestically,” says Ford. The Trump and Moon administrations now seem more in “lockstep” on how to approach the North Korea nuclear challenge.

Regarding the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS), Ford states that the two sides must work together through the existing framework to renegotiate the free trade agreement, rather than the U.S. pulling out of it completely. (3 min., 56 sec.)

Watch the interview.