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As Trump Pressures South Korea, His Ambassador Feels the Heat

William Gallo

   As U.S. president, Donald Trump is compiling a growing list of
   statements that have made many South Koreans uneasy. But as diplomatic
   tension increases between the United States and South Korea, it is
   Trump's ambassador to Seoul who is at the center of the storm.

   Ambassador Harry Harris, a retired Navy admiral, is tasked with trying
   to sustain U.S.-South Korea relations even while helping push Trump's
   demand that Seoul drastically increase how much it contributes toward
   the cost of the U.S. military presence on the peninsula.

   Perhaps predictably, it's been a bumpy ride.

   For a second consecutive year, negotiators failed to reach an agreement
   before the military cost-sharing deal expired on December 31. At one
   point during this year's negotiations, the U.S. side stormed out,
   accusing South Korea of being "unresponsive" to U.S. requests.

   The two sides haven't been able to resolve their differences during six
   rounds of talks. If they can't reach a deal soon, local Korean workers
   at U.S. military bases could be furloughed.

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