By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo

President Lee Jae-myung met with Senators Tammy Duckworth and Andy Kim, who are visiting South Korea, and exchanged views on strengthening the ROK-US alliance, promoting ROK-US economic cooperation, and regional and international affairs on August 18.

President Lee welcomed the visit of the U.S. Senate delegation and stated that the ROK-U.S. alliance is a blood alliance and that he intends to develop it into a “future-oriented comprehensive strategic alliance” not only in security but also in all areas, including the economy and advanced science and technology. He also urged the U.S. Congress to play a key role in promoting this process.

The visiting delegation reaffirmed that the U.S. Congress's support for the ironclad ROK-U.S. alliance is bipartisan and expressed hope to further strengthen cooperation with the ROK, a core ally in the Indo-Pacific region, in order to respond to rapidly changing international circumstances.

In particular, they said that the president's decision to visit Japan first demonstrates his strong will to further strengthen South Korea-Japan relations and South Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation, and that it will further enhance South Korea's high status and role in the international arena.

President Lee expressed his expectations for his visit to the U.S. and his meeting with President Donald Trump, saying that he hopes it will be an opportunity to achieve substantial results in various fields, including cooperation on North Korea, in a calm manner.

The delegation said that there are high expectations in the US for cooperation with South Korea, a global economic powerhouse and leader in cutting-edge technological innovation, and that the US Congress will play its part in ensuring that practical results are achieved in various fields in the future.