Trump, the Republican presidential front-runner, has suggested the United States can no longer afford to protect Japan and South Korea under its nuclear security umbrella. (File Photo)
The White House on Thursday slammed Donald Trump's suggestion that Japan and South Korea obtain nuclear weapons for self defense as a "catastrophic" idea that would go counter to decades of U.S. foreign policy.
"The entire premise of American foreign policy on nuclear weapons for the last 70 years is to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons to additional states," deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said when asked by reporters to respond to Trump's comments. "That's the position . . . of everybody who has occupied the Oval Office. It would be catastrophic if the United States shifted its position to somehow support adding nuclear weapons to additional countries."
The sharp response came as President Barack Obama welcomed 50 world leaders to Washington for a nuclear security summit aimed at focusing global attention on preventing the spread of nuclear weapons to terrorist groups and reducing nuclear stockpiles around the world.
Trump, the Republican presidential front-runner, has suggested the United States can no longer afford to protect Japan and South Korea under its nuclear security umbrella, in the face of growing threats from a nuclear-armed North Korea. China, which also has tensions with the U.S. allies in the region, also has a nuclear weapons arsenal.
Rhodes emphasized the "rock-solid security assurances" from the United States to its allies and said that Trump's remarks are "not particularly relevant to serious discussions' about the security situation in Northeast Asia.
"It flies in the face of decades of bipartisan" U.S. policy, Rhodes said.
Obama opened the two-day summit at the Washington Convention Center with a trilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-Hye as he sought to signal a unified front against the growing threat of North Korea.
The president emphasized the importance of enforcing economic sanctions imposed by the United Nations on North Korea in the wake of Pyongyang's claim of a hydrogen bomb test in January.
"Trilateral security cooperation is essential to maintain peace and stability in Northeast Asia, deterring the North Korean nuclear threat, and the potential of nuclear proliferation," Obama told reporters.
Trump's rise in the polls during the 2016 campaign has alarmed officials in Tokyo and Seoul who fear the real estate magnate would seek to withdraw from longtime alliances in the region. Trump has questioned U.S. trade policies with Japan, in addition to his concerns over the security partnerships.
White House officials said Trump's stance was not discussed during the trilateral meeting.
Obama is scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday afternoon. Officials said the president will meet with French President Francois Hollande on Friday.
© 2016 The Washington Post
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