Senior U.S. diplomat highlights alliance with S. Korea in 1st visit since Lee took office

A senior U.S. diplomat reaffirmed Friday the alliance with South Korea remains a “linchpin of security” in the Indo-Pacific, in the first visit by a U.S. official since the launch of the government of President Lee Jae-myung.

Sean O’Neill, senior bureau official of the U.S. State Department’s East Asian and Pacific affairs bureau, made the remarks as he arrived at the foreign ministry in Seoul for talks with ministry officials.

“I think the alliance remains a linchpin of security in the Indo-Pacific and that’s something we agreed on, we have agreed on, for many, many years and across many administrations, both in the U.S. and here,” O’Neill told reporters.

“It’s really a pleasure to be here so soon after your election, to greet and see our closest, or some of our closest allies and partners in the region,” he said.

O’Neill was expected to meet with Cho Koo-rae, vice minister responsible for intelligence and North Korea’s nuclear issues, and Kim Hee-sang, deputy foreign minister for bilateral economic affairs.

They are expected to discuss joint efforts to strengthen the bilateral alliance and policy coordination on North Korean issues.

Discussions may also touch on the Donald Trump administration’s call for allies to increase their defense burden-sharing, amid speculation that Trump could demand a rise in Seoul’s share of the cost for stationing the 28,500-strong U.S. troops on its soil.

O’Neill’s visit comes amid expectations that Lee could have his first one-on-one meeting with Trump on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit set to take place in Alberta, Canada, from Sunday through Tuesday.

O’Neill has led the bureau as Michael DeSombre, Trump’s nominee for assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, undergoes Senate confirmation procedures.