Washington, Nov 15 (IANS) Korean-American Senator-elect Andy Kim stressed the need to make sure that President-elect Donald Trump’s “America First” policy does not mean “America only,” as he expressed concerns over some of Trump’s personnel choices.
Kim, the first Korean-American elected to the upper chamber of Congress, made the remarks, underscoring his position against an “isolationist” foreign policy and vowing to play a role in reinforcing the relationship between South Korea and the United States, Yonhap news agency reported.
“(What) I will say first is we have to make sure we don’t have an isolationist policy in the United States,” he told Yonhap News Agency after attending a gala event hosted by the Council of Korean Americans.
“And I am concerned by some of the people that have been named (by Trump). These are people that don’t respect coalitions, they don’t respect alliances, and that they are not going to respect the US-Korea relationship in the way that it needs to be,” he added.
He pointed out that he needs to be careful to comment on the matter as he will be voting on Trump’s nominations after he takes office as a senator.
“I am not going to go into specifics right now, but like you know, suffice to say I have concerns … about what kind of foreign policy they will be pushing,” he said.
“We need to make sure that the America First policy that they keep talking about … it does not mean America only, and then we turn our backs on our allies,” he said.
Kim also stressed that as a senator, he will have a “role” for America’s alliances.
“I do have a role in that. I mean it’s in the Constitution,” he said.
“I hope that I can play a positive role in trying to strengthen the US-South Korea relationship, US efforts around Asia and around the country (and) around the world. I will hopefully keep that up.”
Trump has announced a series of his picks for Cabinet and other posts, including the secretary of state and the Pentagon chief, all but completing the formation of his security and foreign policy team.
Once confirmed, his nominees are expected to carry out Trump’s ‘America First’ foreign policy that is expected to call for America’s allies and partners to do more for shared security responsibilities and curtail costly US involvement overseas.
Unlike a House representative, a senator would have a greater voice in America’s foreign and security policy as he or she has a vote on every single ambassador position and confirms Cabinet posts and general and flag officers of the Armed Forces among various Senate roles.
Kim boasts a prominent foreign policy career, having served at the White House National Security Council, the Pentagon, the State Department, the US Agency for International Development and as a civilian adviser to General David Petraeus and General John Allen in Afghanistan.
–IANS
int/rs/rad
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by BhaskarLive.in and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of BhaskarLive.in We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, BhaskarLive.in takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.
