US Allies Japan and South Korea React to Trump’s Presidential Win

Japan and South Korea have vowed to work with the new administration in the United States as former President Donald Trump is poised to win the election and return to the White House.
Trump, who previously served as a twice-impeached, one-term president from 2017 to 2021, completed the greatest political comeback in modern U.S. history in the early hours of Wednesday, claiming enough votes to defeat Vice President Kamala Harris.
Yoon Suk Yeol, the president of South Korea, said under Trump’s “strong leadership,” the future of the South Korea-U.S. alliance would shine brighter. “Look forward to working closely with you,” he wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday.
Shigeru Ishiba, who was elected as the prime minister of Japan a month ago, told reporters that he hoped to work with Trump to elevate the alliance and the bilateral relations to a higher level. “I will work hard to establish a relationship with him as soon as possible.”
In a post on X, the Japanese leader said he was looking forward to working closely with Trump to further bolster the alliance and cooperate to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific.
Japan and South Korea are U.S. security allies in Northeast Asia, where both of them are under the protection of American military power, including nuclear weapons, to deal with threats posed by North Korea. Pyongyang tested its largest nuclear missile on October 31.
Washington’s alliances with Seoul and Tokyo are expected to face uncertainty, as Trump has claimed that allies should pay their shares on defense. South Korea has voiced its concern that the return of Trump would weaken the U.S. nuclear response to North Korea.
“President Trump was the only president to bring peace and he will do so again when he returns to the White House,” a Trump campaign spokesperson previously told Newsweek.
The U.S. military has deployed forces in its two Northeast Asian allies, where 54,000 and 28,500 personnel are stationed in Japan and in South Korea, respectively, including a strike group led by an aircraft carrier, USS George Washington, which will be based in Japan.
Tokyo wants to build “a strong relationship of trust and cooperation” with the next U.S. administration and to further strengthen the deterrent and response capabilities of the Japan-U.S. alliance, said Yoshimasa Hayashi, Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, said on Wednesday.
Meanwhile in Seoul, the South Korean government stated that it would work to establish “a perfect South Korea-U.S. security posture” with the new U.S. administration to ensure its national security, according to principal deputy national security adviser Kim Tae-hyo.