On January 7, 2019, major South Korean newspaper The Chosun Ilbo published an interview with AP Initiative Chairman Yoichi Funabashi, in which he discussed the outlook for this year in international affairs.

In particular, Funabashi predicted that developments surrounding President Trump, such as the Trump-Russia investigation, would continue to pull international affairs in different directions.

The deterioration in Sino-U.S. relations lies not only in trade issues, but rather in an underlying resolve that America will not suffer a repeat of the 1957 Sputnik moment (when the Soviet Union beat the United States in launching a satellite into space) and lose the initiative in high-tech innovation to China. To keep China in check, the United States must start by strengthening its relations with its allies. However, Funabashi pointed out that besides moving in the wrong direction on this front, President Trump seems to believe that the Korean Peninsula has been of little strategic importance to the United States since the end of the Second World War. The Chairman expressed his concern that President Trump is reversing its post-WW2 strategy and moving towards abrogating the U.S.-ROK alliance.

* Please click here to read the interview (Korean)