Former US Ambassador to Korea, Goldberg. Yonhap News. 

While the modernization of the alliance agreed upon by South Korea and the United States will lead to closer security ties between the two countries in the short term, a former US Ambassador to Korea has observed that in the long term, the alliance could loosen as their respective focuses diverge and South Korea's capabilities strengthen.

Philip Goldberg, former US Ambassador to Korea, stated at the 'Van Fleet Policy Forum' held in Washington D.C. on the 14th (local time) that if South Korea's purchase of US weapons, the transfer of wartime operational control, uranium enrichment, and spent nuclear fuel reprocessing are all realized, "all of this means integration (between South Korea and the US) in the short term."

He added, "I think in the longer term, there might be more separation. This is because the US will focus its attention elsewhere, and South Korea, thanks to all these measures, will be able to deal with North Korea more easily and with greater confidence."

He diagnosed, "The focus is shifting. Previously, North Korea was more important than anything else, but now the scope of focus is much broader, and it's a different type of relationship."

Until now, the South Korea-US alliance has prioritized deterring North Korea. However, the US now seeks strategic flexibility to concentrate on China, a greater threat, and is strengthening South Korea's defense capabilities to enable it to take responsibility for deterring North Korea itself. The alliance relationship is undergoing a "transformation," according to former Ambassador Goldberg's assessment.

Regarding the joint fact sheet announced by the leaders of South Korea and the US the previous day, which reaffirmed the goal of complete denuclearization of North Korea, he said, "I think it actually makes it more difficult to bring Kim Jong Un back (to the negotiating table)."

He commented on the South Korea-US trade agreement, stating, "In many respects it is unilateral, but on the other hand, South Korea also gained something." He added that regarding nuclear-powered submarines and nuclear fuel, "These two are issues that South Korea has very strongly demanded for years, during President Yoon Suk-yeol's tenure, and now under President Lee Jae-myung."

However, he pointed out that South Korea, unlike the European Union (EU), felt it necessary to actually implement the trade agreement with the US and therefore sought to finalize and document the details of the agreement, which may have put them at a disadvantage.

He remarked, "The EU maintains an attitude of 'we will sign (a trade agreement with the US), but this will disappear or never happen.'" He continued, "South Korea, in its own way, tried to document everything, and by taking it quite literally, I think they suffered a bit of a loss."

The opinion is that the EU, believing that they would not have to implement the unfair agreement signed due to US tariff pressure once President Trump's term ended, made the agreement vague. However, South Korea may have bound itself with clear contractual language.

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