South Korea and the United States will maintain the "closest possible" alliance and partnership "no matter who wins" the South's Dec. 19 presidential election, a senior U.S. diplomat said Friday, as presidential elections loom for both nations.
Kurt Campbell, the top U.S. diplomat on East Asian policy, made the remarks after talks earlier in the day with South Korean officials, including Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Kyou-hyun and Lim Sung-nam, Seoul's chief envoy to the six-nation talks on ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
Ahead of the Nov. 6 elections in the U.S., President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are locked in a tight race. South Koreans will also vote to pick their new president on Dec. 19, and opinion polls point to a race in which the outcome will be uncertain to the end.
"Obviously, we are entering a critical phase with elections in the United States and elections in South Korea," Campbell told reporters. "I think our central message is, no matter what, we can expect close, constructive and deep cooperation between our two sides no matter who wins."
Campbell said his visit to Seoul is partly aimed at sending "a message of strong support from the United States, whoever wins here."
"We are determined to maintain the closest possible coordination and dialogue going forward," said the U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs.
In Seoul, polls show the upcoming presidential election is a dead heat, with ruling party candidate Park Geun-hye running neck-and-neck in hypothetical two-way races with her main rivals, main opposition candidate Moon Jae-in and independent candidate Ahn Cheol-soo.
Asked about the prospects of resuming the six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear program, Campbell replied that the U.S. has been in "close consultations with South Korean friends, China and Japan as well." He added, "I know that we are united in a overall approach to Pyongyang."
Efforts to reopen the six-party talks, which were last held in late 2008, have been frozen since the North's April rocket launch, but analysts expect regional powers to resume diplomacy with North Korea sometime next year, after South Korea and China face leadership changes in coming months, along with the November elections in the U.S.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's single five-year term ends in February 2013. By law, he cannot seek re-election. (Yonhap News)
