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US President Donald Trump talks to reporters at the White House on Oct. 9. (Reuters/Yonhap News)

Since taking office, US President Donald Trump has claimed that South Korea and Japan “take advantage” of the US in the area of defense costs, former Secretary of Defense James Mattis’ speechwriter Guy Snodgrass claimed.

A former Navy officer, Snodgrass recalls in his book “Holding the Line” – scheduled for publication on Oct. 29 – that he witnessed such a scene during Mattis’ first briefing to Trump on July 7, 20, six months after Trump took office, according an Oct. 21 report on the political news site Politico.

During a visit by Trump to the Pentagon, Mattis explained to him about the numbers of US Forces Korea and US Forces Japan troops that had been stationed in South Korea and Japan for over 60 years preserving peace in the region, as well as the costs paid by the US and the stationing countries, the report said. Mattis was also quoted as stressing the considerable contributions made by both South Korea and Japan, noting that Japan was paying a portion of the costs for relocating US Marines from Okinawa to Guam, while South Korea was paying for the relocation of US Forces Korea (USFK) to Pyeongtaek.

In response, Trump reportedly asked, “Who is paying the rest of the bill for the [US Forces Japan] move to Guam?” and became angry when told that Japan was paying only part of the base relocation costs.

After a brief silence, Trump said, “Our trade agreements are criminal” – an issue unrelated to what Mattis was talking about.

“Japan and South Korea are taking advantage of the United States,” Trump continued, before going to say that the US Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald Ford, was “completely out of control with cost overruns.”

After then Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and other attendees completed their briefings, Trump commented that it had been “a very good study.”

“This is one big monster created over a number of years. Japan, Germany, South Korea – our allies are costing more than anyone else at the table!” he was quoted as saying. Trump’s response was different from what the people giving the brief had intended, Snodgrass explained.

By Hwang Joon-bum, Washington correspondent

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