South Korea ‘strongly confident’ US alliance will thrive under Trump

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul said on Monday he is “strongly confident” the South Korea-U.S. alliance will continue to thrive under the incoming U.S. administration of President-elect Donald Trump.

“To be sure, concerns have been raised in many circles about the implications of the election outcome on U.S. relations with its allies,” Cho said in recorded remarks to a forum hosted by Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“But I’m strongly confident that the Korea-U.S. alliance will continue to thrive and reach new heights in the coming years,” he said.

Outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden met with Japanese and South Korean leaders on Friday 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 Biden’s soon-to-end four-year term as president.

In his first term Trump pressured Tokyo and Seoul to pay more for the U.S. forces they host, which in Japan include amphibious units and naval warships that Washington could deploy to defend neighboring Taiwan from any attack from China.

Trump’s allies in June assured officials in Japan and South Korea that he would support deeper three-way ties, sources have told Reuters.

Cho said his interactions with a wide range of key interlocutors in the United States had left him as convinced as ever that American support for the Korea-U.S. alliance cuts across U.S. party lines.

He said the need to strengthen extended nuclear deterrence in the face of the threat posed by North Korea was well understood and support ran 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, AI and nuclear domains.

“Second, the (South Korea President) Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s determination to assume roles and responsibility commensurate with Korea’s strength comports very well with expectation that allies must pull their weight,” he added.

(Reporting by David Brunnstrom; editing by Jonathan Oatis)