Anchor: Worsening U.S.-China relations are adding further strain on the global economy struggling amid the coronavirus pandemic. As the head of the World Trade Organization announced his resignation, U.S. President Donald Trump blamed the organization for siding with China. At the same time, South Korea has been cornered into making a choice amid the G2 conflict.     
Kim Bum-soo has more.  

Report: 

[Sound bite: WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo (English)]
"This August, I will complete seven years as WTO Director-General. And I have decided that I will step down from my current position... " 

In the middle of one of the worst economic recessions, the head of the World Trade Organization(WTO) announced he will step down on August 31, cutting short his second term by a year. 

[Sound bite: WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo (English)] 
"My decision was reached after long and hard reflection, and much discussion with my family. For the reasons I have outlined, I believe that it would be best if members promptly move ahead with the process for selecting the next Director-General."  

The 164-member trade authority has been under pressure from the United States, which has consistently called for WTO reform amid the conflict with China. 

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump said the WTO is "horrible." 

[Sound bite: US President Donald Trump] 
"I'm okay with it. I'm okay with it. The WT...if you look at the World Trade, not only the World Health, and we'll be making an announcement on the World Health Organization shortly, soon, probably next week, sometime. But the World Trade Organization is horrible. We've been treated very badly. I've been saying it for a long time and we act on it. When I talk, we act on it. The World Trade, they treat China as a developing nation. Therefore, China gets a lot of the benefits that the U.S. doesn't get. They have other countries in that are developing nations and the people sitting in the Oval Office should never have let that happen."  

During an interview with Fox Business later in the day, Trump went further to suggest his administration could cut off its whole relationship with China.  

[Sound bite: US President Donald Trump]
"A terrible thing happened and you can look at it as a source. It took place at a certain point and it could have been put out. And it should have been put out. And we asked to go over and they said, no, they didn't want our help. And I figured that was OK, because they must know what they're doing. So it was either stupidity, incompetence, or it was deliberate. One or the other."  

Reporting on Trump's latest remarks, China's state-run Global Times rhetorically asked, "Is Trump totally insane?" It said experts and the international community couldn't help but ask the question. 

As the G2 conflict intensifies over the coronavirus outbreak, South Korea is sandwiched between its single-most important ally the U.S. and its largest trading partner China. 

The South Korean government is reported to have recently received a U.S. congressional request to support Taiwan's joining of the World Health Organization. On the other side, South Korean President Moon Jae-in held telephone talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday at the request of Beijing. Xi was cited as reaffirming his intentions to visit Seoul this year.   
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.