Trump claims ‘Korea actually used to be a part of China’, but does that stack up?
US President’s version of a history lesson he says he got from Xi Jinping has come under fire in South Korea
It’s a claim that has sparked a fierce response in South Korea.
In retelling a conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping, US President Donald Trump told the Wall Street Journal: “He then went into the history of China and Korea. Not North Korea, Korea. And you know, you’re talking about thousands of years ... and many wars. And Korea actually used to be a part of China. And after listening for 10 minutes, I realised that it’s not so easy.”
This claim was largely buried in the April 12 news coverage of Trump’s wide-ranging interview with the Journal, during which he made numerous flip-flops on several policy areas. But it belatedly went viral in South Korea after a Quartz article drew attention to it on Tuesday.
Trump’s unartful retelling of Sino-Korean history sparked widespread outrage among Koreans, who are particularly sensitive to the US president’s rhetoric amid heightened tensions between North and South Korea.
Leaders across the political spectrum criticised Trump’s characterisation, calling it a clear distortion of history and an attempt to undermine Korean sovereignty; Arirang news on Wednesday cited a South Korean official who said the assertion was untrue and “not worthy of a response”.