President Donald Trump flew into South Korea and met with U.S. troops stationed there on Tuesday, the closest he has come to the frontlines of the nuclear standoff with North Korea, on a visit that could further aggravate tensions with Pyongyang.Landing at Osan Air Base outside Seoul, the president and First Lady Melania Trump stepped down from Air Force One onto a red carpet as he began his 24-hour visit with a military honor guard and 21-gun salute.
He then flew by helicopter to Camp Humphreys, the largest U.S. military installation in the country.The White House says Trump’s trip is intended to demonstrate U.S. resolve over his hardline approach to the North Korean nuclear and missile threats, but many in the region fear further bellicose presidential rhetoric could increase the potential for a devastating military conflict on the Korean peninsula.
Trump was met by a line of camouflage-clad U.S. and South Korean military officers and entered a mess hall to applause from the troops. South Korean President Moon Jae-in flew in to greet him at the base.
Trump is seeking to ratchet up pressure on Pyongyang following his visit to Tokyo, where he declared that Japan would shoot North Korean missiles “out of the sky” if it bought the U.S. weaponry needed to do so, suggesting the Japanese government take a stance it has avoided until now.
