SEOUL: South Korea is seeking to solidify its alliance with the United States, moving beyond the outcome of the U.S. presidential election this November, the foreign ministry said Wednesday.
The ministry made the point as part of its key policy plans regarding relations with Washington, saying that it is “closely monitoring” the election trends with relevant agencies and using its networks in various communities in the U.S.
“We seek to solidify the foundation of the alliance and smoothly address major issues by expanding and systematically managing our friendly networks with U.S. political circles and policy-related communities,” the ministry said in a report submitted to the National Assembly.
“The South Korea-U.S. alliance enjoys bipartisan support and is based not only on government-to-government relations but also on active economic and people-to-people partnerships,” the ministry said.
“We are meticulously preparing as we look beyond the (U.S.) election,” it added.
On the deepening of military coope
ration between Russia and North Korea, the government will continue to take stern action against any development in their illegal partnership and also continue to urge China to play a role, the ministry said.
“As we take note of the differences in China’s position and the positions of Russia and North Korea, we will continue to have high-level communications with China,” the ministry said.
The ministry said it will reinforce its firm stance against the military ties between Moscow and Pyongyang that undermine South Korea’s core security interests while continuing to coordinate with the international community to urge Russia to “act responsibly.”
With China, the government will push to hold more high-level diplomatic talks going forward, including a vice-ministerial dialogue and public-private policy talks, to maintain strategic communications for a “healthy and mature” relationship.
On relations with Japan, it said it will work closely with Tokyo to advance the bilateral ties in a future-oriented manner,
particularly as next year will mark the 60th anniversary of the normalization of the bilateral relations.
Source: Yonhap News Agency
