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US President Donald Trump holds a press conference at the White House on Aug. 5. (EPA/Yonhap News)

On Aug. 5, US President Donald Trump said that one of his top priorities if he’s reelected in November will be increasing the defense contributions made by American allies. That prompts the prediction that a Trump victory on Nov. 3 will place further pressure on South Korea and other countries to increase their defense contributions.

When asked about his top priorities for his second term during an interview on the Fox News show “Fox and Friends” on Wednesday, Trump said that the US had had “the greatest economy in the history of the world” and that he wants to “build it even better.” Trump then tied that to the issue of defense cost-sharing: “I’m taking business and I’m taking trade back from these other countries that have ripped us off for years, our allies also. [. . .] They don’t pay their bills, they’re delinquent.”

“We’re supposed to protect Germany from Russia [but] we get nothing back,” said Trump, who recently decided to withdraw 12,000 US soldiers from Germany. “We’ll let ourselves get rich first,” he said.

While Trump didn’t mention South Korea or Japan, he reiterated his determination to boost allies’ defense contributions for the US’ economic advantage.

Trump also argued in the interview that, if not for the presidential election, North Korea, China, and Iran would be negotiating with the US. “If we didn't have an election right now, two things would happen,” Trump said. “Number one, our stock market would be even higher. [. . .] And the other thing is Iran, China, everybody will be at the table the first day within 24 hours wanting to make a deal, including North Korea.”

“They’re all waiting now to see, and they don’t want Trump [to be reelected],” the president said, while mentioning China. Trump was suggesting that countries including North Korea, China, and Iran have been reluctant to engage in negotiations with the US as they await the results of the presidential election.

In related news, Alex Wong, US deputy special representative for North Korea, responded to a question about the US government’s North Korea policy by saying, “the United States is ready. We have a strong team here, an interagency team ready to negotiate.” He made the remarks during a confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday on his nomination as alternate representative for special political affairs at the UN. At the same time, Wong also emphasized that the US would pressure North Korea to take part in negotiations.

By Hwang Joon-bum, Washington correspondent

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