Obama Says Trump's Nuclear Arms Remarks Show Lack of Knowledge
- President says issue arose in talks during nuclear summit
- Trump said Japan, South Korea might develop own nuclear arms
President Barack Obama speaks on April 1, 2016, in Washington.
Photographer: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
President Barack Obama said recent statements by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump about letting South Korea and Japan have their own nuclear arsenals demonstrate he doesn’t know much about foreign policy “or the world generally.”
Trump has suggested he’d be willing to overturn decades of U.S. security policy by considering withdrawing U.S. troops from Japan and South Korea if the countries don’t pay substantially more for defense help and that they may need to develop their own nuclear weapons.