Trump: "International Law Arbitration Emphasizes Ownership," Lee Jae-myung: "USFK Demands Joked"
US President Trump stated, "I am an arbitrator under international law, and 'ownership is paramount,'" and demanded "ownership of USFK lands" during the South Korea-US summit last August.
Regarding President Trump's statement during the South Korea-US summit demanding "ownership of USFK lands," President Lee Jae-myung later stated in an interview with Time magazine, "I believe he was joking."
On the evening of the 8th, President Trump sat down with four White House correspondents from the New York Times and, when asked if the administration should comply with international law, stated, "Yes," but made it clear that he would "be the arbitrator" if such restrictions were applied to the United States.
The New York Times, broadcasting the unusual White House interview live, reported, "President Trump's assessment of his freedom to use military, economic, and political means to solidify American supremacy as his own freedom was the most direct acknowledgement of his worldview. At its core, it's the notion that national strength, not laws, treaties, or agreements, should be the deciding factor when great powers clash."
He continued, "Ownership is crucial." The Times then reported, "Trump spoke with the eyes of a real estate mogul, speaking of Greenland, a continent three times the size of Texas but with a population of less than 60,000. He seemed to dismiss the value of keeping Greenland under the control of a close NATO ally."
When reporters asked why he needed to own the territory, Trump replied, "I feel it's psychologically necessary for success. I think ownership gives you something that neither a lease nor a treaty can. It gives you things and elements that you can't get by simply signing a document."
The New York Times reported, "This conversation made clear that, from President Trump's perspective, sovereignty and national boundaries are less important than the United States' sole role as defender of the West." He added, "He has made it clear that he leverages his reputation for unpredictability and his reliance on military action, often to coerce other nations."
President Trump's announcement of "permanent base ownership in South Korea" during the South Korea-U.S. summit marked the beginning of a strategy for USFK to "realign" itself to focus on China, while President Lee is adopting a strategy of "avoiding acquiescence."
The biggest issue of the day, when President Trump first held a live televised press conference with President Lee Jae-myung in lieu of a summit meeting in August of last year, avoiding a joint press conference after the meeting, was the demand for the transfer of land ownership for the USFK base in Pyeongtaek. President Trump said, "One of the things I'd like to do is maybe ask South Korea to give us ownership of the land where we have a large military base. We spent a lot of money building that base, and South Korea contributed, but I want that. We can eliminate the lease and take ownership of the land where we have that huge military base."
He continued, "We spent a lot of money building that base, and South Korea contributed, but we're going to see if we can eliminate the lease on that huge military base and take ownership."
President Lee did not respond to this during the live broadcast of his summit remarks, but in a later interview with Time on September 18, he said of the "ownership demand," "I believe he was joking," and "The United States already uses that base and that land without any cost."
The president then laughed and said, "If the United States actually owns the land, it should pay property taxes. We can't exempt it." The Time magazine interview in which this remark was made was conducted on September 3rd.
The Yomiuri reported on August 27th of last year that the remark at the time "presumably reflects the intentions of Elbridge Colby, the third-highest ranking official in the Pentagon," and that "Colby, before taking office, had stated in his 2024 X that he was in favor of realigning the US military in Korea to focus on China."
The Yomiuri added, "President Lee's low-key stance seems to have been intended to avoid being forced to make unacceptable demands on Prime Minister Trump, but it didn't go as planned." "President Trump urged the transfer of ownership of land for US military bases in Korea. This has never been a major agenda item until now,” the Yomiuri newspaper said.
The Yomiuri newspaper continued, “No joint press conference was held after the summit, and it appears that differences of opinion could not be resolved. The failure to clarify the role of US forces in Korea at the summit on the 25th raises uncertainty about the future of the ROK-US alliance.”
President Trump received a lengthy phone call from Colombian President Gustavo Petro during his White House interview with the New York Times on the 7th, which led to a private phone call between the two leaders.
The Times described the Colombian president’s “private” phone call as “an example of coercive diplomacy,” adding, “It occurred just hours after President Trump and Secretary of State Rubio disengaged the United States from dozens of international organizations to promote multilateral cooperation.”
Secretary Rubio sat to the left of President Trump’s long desk facing four reporters.
The Times reported, “In his conversation with the Times, President Trump seemed bolder than ever,” adding, “He was confident in his successful strike on Iran’s nuclear program.” He mentioned that he kept a model of the B-2 bomber used in the mission on his desk. This includes the speed with which he beheaded the Venezuelan government last weekend and his plans for Danish-controlled Greenland,” he said.
When asked by the New York Times whether securing Greenland or preserving NATO was a higher priority, President Trump declined to give a direct answer, but acknowledged, “It may be a matter of choice.”
In the interview, he made clear that the Atlantic Alliance is effectively useless without the United States as its linchpin.
Trump characterized the post-World War II “norms of the postwar order” as an “unnecessary burden” for the superpowers.
The New York Times reported, “While acknowledging these unnecessary norms, he dismissed the idea that China’s Xi Jinping or Russia’s Vladimir Putin could use similar logic against the United States.” “On every topic, he made it clear that American power was the decisive factor and that previous presidents were too cautious to use force for political advantage or national gain.”
The Greenland claim exemplified the president’s worldview, which insisted that Greenland must be part of the United States.
Greenland defined the postwar order. Under a 1951 treaty, it became Danish territory. The United States, which created NATO, has long seized it as a closed military base, and is now expanding its right to reopen it from exercise to "ownership."
South Korea, which fought a three-year war on the border of the post-war order and maintained it as a military demarcation line, is a major US base, and the Trump administration has newly asserted its "military base ownership," are owned by the US under the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between South Korea and the US. This time, the US president directly raised the issue of land ownership to the South Korean people during a summit.
The New York Times stated regarding Greenland's ownership claim, "The US didn't have enough military bases," and "This land is a strategically important crossroads for US, European, Chinese, and Russian naval operations."
In response to questions about the US' compliance with international law, Trump stated, "It depends on the definition of international law," and declared that his power as Commander-in-Chief is limited only by his "morality," ignoring other checks on international law and his ability to use military force to attack, invade, or coerce nations around the world.
In a wide-ranging interview with him, the New York Times asked if there were limits to his global power. "Yes, there is one," Trump replied, "My own morality. My own mind. That's the only thing that can stop me," he said, adding, "I don't need international law," and "I'm not trying to hurt people."
He went on to say that when asked further about whether the administration must abide by international law, Trump replied, "Yes," but he made it clear to the New York Times that he would be the mediator when such restrictions were applied to the United States.
Yonhap News Agency described Trump's remarks on August 26th of last year regarding the "transfer of land ownership (of US Forces Korea)" as "a remark that shakes the framework of the basic agreement between South Korea and the US."
Reuters reported, "North Korea did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump's remarks. State media later said that the joint US-South Korea military exercises demonstrated the US intention to 'occupy' the Korean Peninsula and target countries in the region."
"When asked whether he would reduce the number to provide the US with more regional flexibility, Trump said, "I don't want to say that right now," but he was probably referring to Camp Humphreys, a US Army garrison stationed in South Korea." "We should give the US ownership of the land where the large fortress is located," he reported on August 26th of last year.
The New York Times reported in an interview that "he spoke to aides and advisers in the room in a fatherly tone, referring to several men, including Vice President J.D. Vance, 41, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, 54, as 'kids.' Both men were wearing shoes he had gifted them."
President Trump met with oil executives at the White House on the 9th and said of Greenland, "I want to make a deal, and it's the easy way, but if we don't do it the easy way, I'll do it the hard way. We're not going to let Russia or China take Greenland, and if we don't, they will."
See <Trump 'owns permanent base in Korea', USFK 'reorganizes to focus on China', August 27, 2025>
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