South Korea minister says Trump appears to be pressuring Seoul over Iran, investment

SEOUL, Aug 19 (Reuters) – South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said on Wednesday that U.S. President Donald Trump’s order to curb joint military drills appeared aimed in part at pressuring Seoul to support U.S. efforts in the Iran war, alongside other unresolved issues such as investment.

“I think President Trump’s message includes pressure over several pending issues concerning the South Korean government, as well as a message to North Korea and an intention by the United States to break a stalemate in the Iran war,” Cho said.

One potential source of friction could be South Korea’s pledge to invest $350 billion in the United States under a trade deal signed last year, Cho said.

Seoul has yet to announce details of the investment plan, although Cho said Washington had sent Seoul a proposal outlining projects that could be considered.

“We could not move faster on the investment plan as we had to consider factors such as commercial viability and take legal procedures,” Cho said. He cited other unexpected problems, without elaborating.

South Korea and the United States announced on Wednesday that they will shorten annual military drills to five days from 11 and scale back some field training, following Trump’s order on a substantial reduction in U.S. participation.

South Korea’s Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, who attended the same hearing, said he believes Trump was moving closer to potentially arranging a new meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un by curtailing exercises that have long angered Pyongyang.

(Reporting by Kyu-seok Shim and Heejin Kim Editing by Ed Davies)