South Korea ‘strongly confident’ US alliance will thrive under Trump
Sign up now: Get insights on Asia's fast-moving developments
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul said his interactions with the US have left him as convinced as ever that American support for the South Korea-US alliance cuts across US party lines.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
WASHINGTON – South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul said on Nov 18 that he is “strongly confident” the South Korea-US alliance will continue to thrive under the incoming US administration of President-elect Donald Trump.
“To be sure, concerns have been raised in many circles about the implications of the election outcome on US relations with its allies,” Mr Cho said in recorded remarks to a forum hosted by Washington’s Centre for Strategic and International Studies.
“But I’m strongly confident that the Korea-US alliance will continue to thrive and reach new heights in the coming years,” he said.
Outgoing US President Joe Biden met Japanese and South Korean leaders on Nov 15 as they sought to cement their diplomatic progress ahead of the new Trump administration that many fear could upend alliances worldwide.
Getting South Korea and Japan to work together is considered one of the diplomatic achievements of Mr Biden’s soon-to-end four-year term as president.
In his 2017-2021 first term, Trump pressed Tokyo and Seoul to pay more for the US forces they host, which in Japan include amphibious units and naval warships that Washington could deploy to defend neighbouring Taiwan from any attack by China.
Trump’s allies in June assured officials in Japan and South Korea that he will support deeper three-way ties, sources have told Reuters.
Outgoing Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, who has led Mr Biden’s Indo-Pacific policy, told the same forum that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been in consultation with Senator Marco Rubio, Trump’s nominee to take over as America’s top diplomat, about which parts of existing strategy deserved continued engagement and investment.
Referring to the trilateral relationship, Mr Campbell said: “I would put this very much at the extreme top of the list.”
Mr Cho said his interactions with a wide range of key interlocutors in the United States have left him as convinced as ever that American support for the South Korea-US alliance cuts across US party lines.
He said the need to strengthen extended nuclear deterrence against the threat posed by North Korea is well understood and support runs deep for further expanding cooperation in areas including cyberspace and outer space, and for growing the trade and investment partnership to include shipbuilding and servicing, semiconductors, artificial intelligence and nuclear domains.
“Second, the (South Korean President) Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s determination to assume roles and responsibility commensurate with Korea’s strength comports very well with the expectation that allies must pull their weight.”
Mr Campbell said that given China’s and North Korea’s nuclear build-ups and nuclear sabre-rattling by Russia, it is essential that the United States “be absolutely rock-solid in our commitment to extended deterrence”, under which the US nuclear missile umbrella protects Japan and South Korea. REUTERS
