A White House official on Tuesday affirmed the "ironclad" nature of the South Korea-US alliance while expressing concerns over "Chinese interference and influence in democracies" after Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung was elected South Korea's president.
The remarks came as Lee of the liberal party has stressed the alliance with the United States as the "foundation" of his "pragmatic" foreign policy while pledging to "stably" manage relations with China in the midst of an escalating Sino-US rivalry.
"The US-ROK Alliance remains ironclad," the official said in response to a request for comment by Yonhap News Agency. ROK is short for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea.
"While South Korea had a free and fair election, the United States remains concerned and opposed to Chinese interference and influence in democracies around the world," the official added.
Lee's election came as US President Donald Trump's administration is hoping to see Indo-Pacific allies and partners coalesce behind its drive to keep an assertive China in check and deter Chinese aggression.
Lee is now tasked with addressing a raft of nettlesome alliance issues, including Trump's unabated tariff pressure, calls for greater security "burden sharing" and a potential US Forces Korea troop drawdown, to name a few. (Yonhap)
