U.S. President Donald Trump has raised eyebrows with his latest comments on the amendment to the South Korea-U.S. free trade deal.<br />Speaking before a crowd of union builders on Thursday in Ohio, Trump said he may "hold up" the recently amended FTA... until a deal is made with North Korea. <br />Lee Seung-jae reports. <br /> Before the ink has even dried on the newly amended South Korea-U.S FTA,... President Trump said he may 'hold up' the trade deal in order to use the deal as leverage in any upcoming negotiations with North Korea and their nuclear program. <br />Calling it a 'strong card',... Trump made it clear how he wants to use the trade deal.<br /><br /> "Just this week we secured a wonderful deal with South Korea. (cut) And I may hold it up till after a deal is made with North Korea. Does everybody understand that? You know why, right? You know why? Because it's a very strong card and I want to make sure everyone is treated fairly and we're moving along very nicely with North Korea we'll see what happens."<br /><br /> Observers say it's unclear how holding up the trade deal with South Korea, one of America's closest allies, could help the U.S. in dealing with North Korea. <br />This comes as U.S. diplomats have emphasized that any meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un would simply be a meeting,... and not a formal negotiation on the North's nuclear weapons program.<br /> Meanwhile... the South Korean government on Thursday demanded the U.S. correct a recent statement on the U.S. Trade Representative website, stating that the U.S. Treasury Department is leading discussions on currency with South Korea's finance ministry. Adding to the dispute was a fact sheet issued by the U.S. Trade Representative on Wednesday,... stating that 'a memorandum of understanding is being finalized on robust provisions to prohibit competitive devaluation and exchange rate manipulation.'<br /> According to Seoul's Ministry of Strategy and Finance,... the exchange rate issue is entirely unrelated to the FTA, as such an agreement would likely deal a heavy blow to South Korea as it's such an export-dependent economy.<br />Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News. <br />
