
South Korea is apparently quite impressed with Trump’s tweets. In fact, it has just appointed an official to monitor his Twitter account for hints on how he will deal with East Asian countries.
The JoongAng Daily, a Korean news site, reported: “The Korean government is still in the process of building ties with Trump and does not have a lot of insight into his foreign policies — like most of the world.
“His 140-character posts are currently the most effective insight into policies of the incoming administration.”
The country’s appointment of its North American Affairs Bureau for this particular job comes after the president-elect directed a series of vitriol filled tweets to North Korea and China.
Earlier this week, Trump gave his opinion about North Korea’s plan to create a nuclear missile that can span continents.
North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the U.S. It won't happen!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2017
Then he tweeted out a sardonic tweet about China.
China has been taking out massive amounts of money & wealth from the U.S. in totally one-sided trade, but won't help with North Korea. Nice!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2017
The posts drew widespread criticism from all spheres about Trump’s lack of tact and his propensity to spew forth information regarding national security on social media.
It also understandably drew the ire of China and its Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang retaliated with: “China's efforts are widely recognized, and we hope all sides will avoid remarks and actions to escalate the situation.”
“The obsession with 'Twitter diplomacy' is undesirable,” reported Chinese state-run media, Xinhua. “It is a commonly accepted that diplomacy is not a child's game — and even less is it business dealing. Twitter should not be a tool for foreign policy.”
There's an official government position in South Korea dedicated to monitor Donald Trump's tweets.
— Talia (@2020fight) January 6, 2017
That's goddamn terrifying.
Twitter officer - perhaps the ultimate 21st century government job https://t.co/CYwzDei4vY
— Vitalik Buterin (@VitalikButerin) January 5, 2017
Donald Trump is a job creator.
— (´•?•?) (´??? ?) (@_icze4r) January 5, 2017
Makes jobs all over the world, he does.https://t.co/jJ0J59We35
However, it seems South Korea is quite happy with Trump’s “warnings” on Twitter.
“President-elect Trump’s Twitter message is his first time explicitly mentioning the North Korea nuclear issue since he was elected, which makes it significant,” said South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho June-hyuck in a briefing, “and can be interpreted as a clear warning about Kim Jong-un’s New Year address on ICBM and the possibility of provocations.”
In the past, the country had to wait until after the Korean embassy in Washington would send a report about America’s key foreign policies. But now that Trump’s going to be president, it’s probable all they need to do is watch Twitter.
Banner/Thumbnail credit: Reuters
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