hankyoreh

US President Donald Trump holds a summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the Blue House on Nov. 7. (Blue House Photo Pool)

During the third summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump, which was held at the Blue House on the afternoon of Nov. 7, the word that Moon and Trump emphasized several times was the “steadfastness” of the South Korea-US alliance.

“President Trump and I met and communicated with each other numerous times, building deep trust and consolidating our friendship. Today we had candid discussions about [the] steadfastness of [the] ROK-US alliance,” Moon said during the joint press conference that was held after the summit.

Trump also expressed his positive feelings by saying, “The Republic of Korea is more than a longstanding ally of the United States. We are partners and friends who have fought side-by-side in a war, and, really, worked very hard and prospered toward a great and lasting peace.”

Trump also addressed claims made by the opposition parties and some parts of the press about “bypassing Korea,” (the idea that South Korea is often sidelined in northeast Asian politics). “South Korea…is very important to me. And there will be no skipping South Korea,” he said. Trump clearly was trying to contradict the claims made by conservative groups and to assuage the concerns of some sectors that the US is bypassing South Korea and engaging in dialogue and negotiations with Japan and China on important matters related to security.

There are a number of interpretations, however, about Trump’s use of the expression “peace and security…across the Indo-Pacific region” (a phrase he also used during his summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe the previous day) to emphasize the significance of the South Korea-US alliance.

“Our soldiers sacrificed side-by-side in the struggle for freedom. Our alliance is more important than ever to peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and across the Indo-Pacific region,” Trump said during the joint press conference. Some experts have asked whether this was a roundabout expression of US intentions to expand the South Korea-US alliance into a trilateral alliance with Japan to counter China.

“The remark that the South Korea-US alliance is very important for security on the Korean Peninsula and in the Indo-Pacific region was ultimately made with China in mind. The only possible interpretation is that this expresses the determination to eventually move trilateral security cooperation between South Korea, the US and Japan down the path of further strengthening,” said Kim Dong-yeop, a professor at Kyungnam University.

“Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (whom Trump met just before his visit to South Korea) appears to have sold President Trump on the Indo-Pacific Strategy, which calls for blockading and countering China. I’m not sure how much that strategy has been fleshed out, but [Trump’s remarks] clearly seem to contain the seeds of countering China,” said Kim Jun-hyeong, a professor at Handong Global University.

But Cho Seong-ryeol, chief of research at the Institute for National Security Strategy, does not think the US was seriously proposing to reorganize the South Korea-US alliance into a trilateral alliance with Japan aimed at countering China. Trump’s remarks, Cho said, “imply that the scope of the South Korea-US alliance has extended to the Indo-Pacific region. This leaves open the possibility of the US asking for a readjustment of the scope of the alliance’s activity down the road.”

By Kim Bo-hyeop and Noh Ji-won, staff reporters

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]