WASHINGTON: South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul said on Monday (Nov 18) 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,” 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-US alliance will continue to thrive and reach new heights in the coming years,” he said.
Outgoing US 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 US 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.
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