South Korean defense minister Shin Won-sik said the U.S. will have to “give up its global leadership” if it gives into North Korean extortion and abandons its alliance with Seoul, responding to concerns of a shift in American policy if Donald Trump returns to office.

Speaking at the National Assembly on Thursday, Shin addressed lawmakers’ questions about the impact of a second Trump presidency on South Korean security, while dismissing worries that North Korea’s deployment of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) will weaken the U.S.-ROK alliance.

Such a development will only strengthen the alliance because the ICBMs pose a direct