Alliance will strengthen regardless of US election results, says Han

South Korea’s ruling People Power Party Chair Han Dong-hoon said Wednesday that the alliance between Seoul and Washington will strengthen regardless of who wins the latest US presidential election.

“The South Korea-US alliance will strengthen regardless of the candidate who is elected president of the United States,” Han said in an emergency intra-party meeting on foreign affairs and security matters. The meeting was held a day after ruling party lawmakers compiled and reviewed opinions from foreign affairs and security experts on the outlook of the Seoul-Washington alliance following the US election.

Han’s remarks came as American voters headed to the polls to vote for their country’s next president in a tight race between Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and her Republican rival Donald Trump.

Observers here have said that the latest US election outcome could lead to major foreign policy shifts in Washington that could rattle the South Korea-US alliance. Washington’s stance towards the security situation on the Korean peninsula, currently threatened by Pyongyang’s advancing nuclear and missile program, could be changed as well, they said.

“South Korea has arrived at a crucial point in terms of world history. After today, a new US president will be elected and Russia's war in Ukraine could (enter a new and different stage),” Han pointed out.

Han reiterated his condemnation of North Korea’s decision to send troops to Russia, saying that it is a threat to “global peace as well as security on the Korean peninsula.”

At a meeting of the party's leadership on Monday, Han called North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s move to dispatch troops to Russia a “serious challenge to international peace” and a “crime against humanity.”

On the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea’s criticism of Yoon’s recent decision to dispatch a delegation of senior intelligence and military officials to Ukraine, Han labeled it an “attempt to distort the truth and attack our national interest.” The South Korean government sent the delegation to share information on Pyongyang’s troop dispatch to Russia and discuss cooperation measures with Ukraine.

Democratic Party Rep. Kim Byung-joo, a member of the main opposition’s Supreme Council, called the delegation an attempt to “send (South Korean) troops to Ukraine without the consent of the Assembly,” in a meeting of party senior officials last week.

As the ruling party leader, Han pledged to support the Korean government’s efforts to achieve peace on the Korean peninsula.

“The South Korean government is seeking the best solution to the case with the national interest at the forefront of its priorities. The National Assembly will actively support them and help such government policies that could benefit our nation shine,” Han said.