Campbell calls on S. Korea’s next government to swiftly engage with Trump administration, set joint agenda
South Korea’s top diplomat on Wednesday told a forum on security and foreign affairs that engaging China aligned with US interests by contributing to regional stability.
Former US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, meanwhile, warned that confronting the China challenge single-handedly was "a recipe for failure," describing Washington's ability to work with allies and partners as its "most significant ticket to the big game."
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul underscored that “we will continue to work toward a healthy and balanced relationship with China on the basis of mutual respect, reciprocity and shared interests."
“In areas where we see things differently, for example, in the South China Sea and the Yellow Sea, we will certainly continue to speak with candor and disagree,” Cho said in his English-language speech during Asan Plenum 2025, hosted by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies.
Cho’s remarks came on the same day South Korean and Chinese officials convened in Seoul for the Korea-China Dialogue on Maritime Cooperation, where discussions included China’s unilateral installation of structures in the West Sea — an area also known as the Yellow Sea that is jointly managed under a bilateral agreement due to overlapping exclusive economic zones.
Cho clarified countries in the Indo-Pacific region, including South Korea, "don’t want to be in a position of having to choose between Washington and Beijing."
"Nor do they want to see US-China strategic competition become a zero-sum game. Korea is no exception, even as its foreign policy priority lies first and foremost in the robust alliance with the US, which even China does not contest," he added.
Cho went on to say, "So, in many ways, I believe our engagement with China aligns with US interests."
"When Korea spearheaded the resumption of the Korea-Japan-China trilateral cooperation from its dormancy last year, it was partly guided by the view that Korea and Japan’s active engagement can help encourage China's constructive role in upholding peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific and beyond," Cho said. "Engaging China would also better align with the goal of preventing a war between great powers in the 21st century."
During the event, Campbell reiterated that the US cannot handle the China challenge in isolation, unlike previous cases when the US had the internal capacity to take on any challenge on the global stage during World War II and the Cold War.
Campbell expressed concerns over Washington’s current "tendency to underestimate China," warning of China’s capacity, “that will affect every element of life and politics in the Indo-Pacific going forward.”
“I will posit to you that the United States cannot take this challenge on alone."
Campbell went on to say, “And there are going to be some who say, 'No, no, we're going to do this by ourselves.' That is a recipe for failure."
"We are going to need to work even — and ever — closer with allies and partners. And frankly, at the top of that list are both Japan and South Korea," he reinstated, citing this approach as the "only way forward."
Campbell underscored, "I would say that, behind closed doors, the Chinese regard the American ability to work with allies and partners as our most significant ticket to the big game."
"Our ability to convene and engage, frankly, causes some pause in Beijing, and it is something that I think we need to sustain going forward. But frankly, we must go deeper."
Campbell also called for South Korea’s next administration, which will be launched without a transition period after the early presidential election on June 3, to swiftly engage with the Trump administration to identify areas of shared interest.
"So, taking advantage of the immediate period after the election is going to be critical — and recognizing and setting a joint agenda so that we understand the areas that we can work together on — technology, and military diplomacy far afield. That's going to be critical for us going forward," he said. "We have to come up with a number of areas of common purpose."
Campbell said Seoul's bid to deepen the alliance across broadening horizons — including tech and defense ties — will be welcomed by the US, citing the revitalization of its moribund shipbuilding industry, both military and civilian, as the top priority where the US seeks its ally’s assistance.
"It is the ROK that can help us, that can work with us in very productive partnerships," Campbell said, using the acronym for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea.
"There are a number of areas where, I believe, these discussions — though difficult and tense — can be channeled in ways that are beneficial to both of our countries and draw us ever closer together."
dagyumji@heraldcorp.com
