The lesson of Greenland: An era when allies can no longer be taken for granted

 

Inuits sing a national song during a protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's policy towards Greenland in front of the U.S. consulate in Nuuk, Greenland, on Jan. 17. [AP/YONHAP]

 
U.S. President Donald Trump shocked Europe after threatening on Saturday to impose tariffs on eight European countries for opposing his plan to annex Greenland. The proposed measures include tariffs of 10 percent starting in February and 25 percent from June. Tensions had already deepened through reciprocal tariffs last year, pressure to raise defense spending and Washington’s push for a Russia-friendly end to the war in Ukraine. With the new year, another wave of Trump-driven “America First” policies is now shaking the foundations of the NATO alliance that has endured for more than 80 years since World War II.
 
European leaders reacted sharply to Trump’s apparent disregard for allies, treating them as adversaries rather than partners. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the idea “completely wrong,” and French President Emmanuel Macron said it was “unacceptable.” Europe has emphasized solidarity with Denmark and Greenland and is weighing countermeasures such as retaliatory tariffs against the United States, though it has yet to find a clear solution.
 
Trump has argued that the Greenland annexation plan is intended to block China and Russia from gaining a foothold there and that doing so serves U.S. national interests. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has even claimed that annexation is necessary to prevent the United States from being dragged into a war should Russia attack Greenland. Trump has previously raised the possibility of military intervention, an astonishing notion that would amount to threatening war against allies. Despite criticism within the U.S. Congress that such measures represent a “grave mistake” that would do nothing to enhance U.S. security and instead benefit adversaries such as Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, the administration continues to press ahead.
 
The widening rift in the Atlantic alliance, which has escalated from trade disputes to territorial tensions, is not a distant problem. Its repercussions are unsettling Pacific allies as well, including South Korea, Japan and the Philippines. A recent example is Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks about intervention in the event of a Taiwan contingency and Washington's lukewarm response to China's retaliatory measures against Japan.
 

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• Greenland dismisses U.S. takeover fears amid Trump's remarks

 
Of particular concern, The Washington Post recently noted in an editorial that North Korea was not mentioned even once in the National Security Strategy released by the White House last December. The omission, the paper argued, was intentional and signaled that denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is no longer considered an option. If the Trump administration were to steer future U.S.-North Korea talks toward arms reduction negotiations premised on recognizing North Korea’s nuclear status — as sought by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un — it would deliver a shock to the South Korean government and public comparable to that currently being felt in Europe.
 
Entering its second year in office, the Trump administration’s America First approach has become a constant. The government must remain acutely alert to unusual shifts in U.S. positions on security and trade. It is an unfortunate reality, but we are living in an era of uncertainty in which alliances can no longer be trusted as they once were.


This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.