Story highlights Donald Trump suggested possibility of South Korea and Japan obtaining nuclear arms

He said both countries should pay more towards their defense

Seoul (CNN) Confused, shocked, bewildered. Just a few of the words used in recent days to describe Japan and South Korea's reaction to some of Donald Trump's latest comments about the region.

The front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination stunned two of America's strongest allies with the suggestion that the U.S. military would be withdrawn from their shores, with nuclear weapons replacing them.

There are currently 54,000 U.S. troops stationed in Japan and 28,500 in South Korea.

"Japan is better if it protects itself against this maniac of North Korea," Trump told CNN's Anderson Cooper Tuesday. "We are better off frankly if South Korea is going to start protecting itself ... they have to protect themselves or they have to pay us."

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