US needs more mature approach to allies

The Pew Research Center poll released earlier this week has sent a warning signal to Washington: South Koreans’ trust in the United States under the Donald Trump administration is eroding.

Many Koreans feel that Trump has placed too much emphasis on U.S. interests, sometimes at the expense of South Korea’s security.

The Korean public was embarrassed by reports that Trump ordered the Pentagon to scale back the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise to create favorable conditions for a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

In offering the proposal in a post on Truth Social, Trump did not mention the denuclearization of North Korea.

Koreans are increasingly feeling uneasy about such rhetoric, wondering whether the U.S. remains a trusted ally.

Trust is essential, particularly among allies, to building a robust partnership.

When allies become suspicious of one another and those suspicions are left unresolved, their partnership is ultimately doomed to fail.

The Pew Research poll found that 55 percent of South Koreans expressed an unfavorable view of the U.S., up from 39 percent last y