Bahk Eun-ji has been with The Korea Times since 2012, building a career across multiple desks. She began at the Business Desk, where she conducted in-depth interviews with key figures in Korea's corporate world. Later, she moved to the Politics & City Desk, focusing on education policy and social affairs. She later served as team leader of the digital content team, leading curation efforts on the newspaper’s homepage and reshaping print stories for social media audiences to enhance digital reach. Now back on the Politics Desk, she covers the National Assembly and the Ministry of National Defense, with a renewed focus on political developments.
INTERVIEW Former Trump official proposes expanding Quad to include S. Korea as 'Quint'
Fred Fleitz / Captured from America First Policy Institute website
By Bahk Eun-ji
Fleitz skeptical of Kim-Trump summit, emphasizes defense cost-sharing, shipbuilding cooperation between Seoul, Washington
A former senior official in the U.S. Donald Trump administration has proposed expanding the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) security grouping to include South Korea, arguing that this would strengthen the region’s security architecture.
He also expressed skepticism on the prospects for meaningful progress in a potential summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Fred Fleitz, former chief of staff of the U.S. National Security Council during Trump's first term and current vice chair of the America First Policy Institute, suggested South Korea's inclusion in the strategic regional security forum.
“To further strengthen regional security architecture, I propose expanding the Quad — comprising the U.S., Japan, India and Australia — into ‘Quint’ by including South Korea,” Fleitz said Tuesday in a written interview with The Korea Times, one day ahead of his participation in the Asan Plenum 2026 in Seoul.
He said South Korea’s inclusion would enhance the grouping’s role in maritime security and supply chain resilience, citing the country’s economic weight and technological capabilities.
Fleitz also highlighted a broader shift in South Korea's role under a Trump-aligned Indo-Pacific strategy.
While the U.S. would pursue greater strategic flexibility to address wider regional challenges, such as deterring Chinese aggression, South Korea would take on a larger share of responsibility for deterrence on the Korean Peninsula, he said.
“South Korea is taking on greater responsibility for its own defense ... while the U.S. remains fully committed to the defense of the Republic of Korea.”
He added that the alliance remains strong, noting that the two sides have held “productive discussions on burden-sharing and cost-sharing.”
As for predictions about relocating U.S. Forces Korea in line with strategic flexibility, however, Fleitz said, "There are no serious discussions underway."
Regarding the prospect of renewed summit diplomacy between Trump and Kim, Fleitz said Trump is eager to meet the North Korean leader again but warned that the situation has changed.
“There is no doubt that President Trump is eager to hold such a summit,” he said, describing Trump’s past engagement with Kim as a key foreign policy achievement.
Still, he said the resumption of talks would face serious obstacles, particularly due to North Korea’s deepening ties with Russia amid its war on Ukraine.
“I believe it will be difficult for the U.S. to achieve meaningful progress on North Korea’s nuclear program,” he said.
He also noted that Pyongyang’s posture toward Seoul has hardened in recent years, with Kim repeatedly declaring that he will not give up his nuclear arsenal.
Fleitz further stressed the importance of Seoul-Washington cooperation in shipbuilding, calling it “vital for both American and global security.”
He said the U.S. has fallen behind China in shipbuilding capacity, while South Korea has established itself as a global leader in high-value, technologically advanced vessels.
“America’s partnership with South Korea and its world-class shipbuilding industry is critically important,” he said.