US Official: "Yoon Should Meet Trump Early to Emphasize Importance of ROK-US Cooperation"

Kurt Campbell, U.S. Department of State Deputy Secretary

A senior official of the U.S. Biden administration argued that President Yoon Suk-yeol should meet early with President-elect Donald Trump to persuade him of the importance of the South Korea-U.S. alliance.

Kurt Campbell, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, participated in the 9th Korea-U.S. Strategic Forum held at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington D.C. on the same day, stating that "at the center of the U.S. military engagement in the Indo-Pacific region is a rock-solid alliance with both Japan and South Korea."

Deputy Secretary Campbell said, "There are still unclear elements in President-elect Trump's global policies," and added, "I strongly recommend that President Yoon and his team early on assert to the Trump side about the Korea-U.S. cooperative relationship, why South Korea is such a loyal U.S. ally, and why the Korea-U.S. alliance is mutually dependable."

He emphasized that under a second Trump term, not only the current Korea-U.S. alliance but also the trilateral cooperation framework among South Korea, the U.S., and Japan should be strengthened.

Deputy Secretary Campbell stated, "I hope that key figures who will participate in the new Trump administration understand the meaning and importance of the Indo-Pacific region," and argued, "If there is an attempt to significantly reduce U.S. forces or fundamentally change the nature of the U.S. commitment to the Indo-Pacific region, it would be against U.S. strategic interests." He continued, "If the U.S. wants to influence the increasingly uncertain dynamics in Asia, the more politically and strategically aligned the U.S., Japan, and South Korea are, the better."

He also mentioned that recently South Korea and Japan concluded "very generous and friendly" negotiations on defense cost-sharing with the U.S. In the Korea-U.S. defense cost-sharing agreement reached in early last month, South Korea set its 2026 contribution at 1.5192 trillion won, an 8.3% increase from the previous year, and agreed to raise the contribution annually based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) until 2030.

Deputy Secretary Campbell said, "Through this, South Korea expressed its willingness to maintain the U.S. forward deployment and engagement," and added, "I hope the new administration fully recognizes the wisdom of that (defense cost-sharing agreement)."