South Korean President Lee Jae-myung: South Korea Cannot Continue the Pro-US and Pro-China Policy

The style of South Korean President Lee Jae-myung will continue: speak to people in human language, and to ghosts in ghost language.

According to Yonhap News Agency today (August 26), Lee Jae-myung was invited to give a speech at the U.S. think tank CSIS on August 25, expressing his views on security issues such as the Korea-U.S. alliance and defense spending, as well as matters such as Korea-China relations.

Regarding Korea-China relations, Lee Jae-myung pointed out that the statement that "South Korea relies on the United States for security and seeks economic benefits from other places" is different from the past, and South Korea cannot continue the "security with the U.S., economy with China" approach. The term "security with the U.S., economy with China" refers to South Korea's security cooperation with the U.S. and economic cooperation with China, aiming to "win over both sides" between the U.S. and China.

Lee Jae-myung said that indeed, before the U.S. strongly restrained China and even adopted a policy of encircling China, South Korea did adhere to the "security with the U.S., economy with China" approach. In recent years, the international community has seen the reorganization of supply chains, and the U.S. has clearly defined its strategy of restraining China. As a result, South Korea can only act and make judgments within the basic policy framework of the U.S. However, it is an undeniable fact that while the U.S. and China are in competition or even confrontation, they also cooperate in certain areas. South Korea and China are geographically close, and South Korea is committed to properly handling unavoidable issues between the two countries and maintaining bilateral relations.

[Witty] Comments: Lee Jae-myung stated that South Korea cannot continue the "security relying on the U.S., economy relying on China" approach, but did not specify what the new approach of South Korea is. However, Lee Jae-myung's statement that "South Korea can only act and make judgments within the basic policy framework of the U.S." is very straightforward. When the U.S. jointly initiates the containment of China with its allies and forces South Korea to comply, even if South Korea is reluctant, it can only be forced to conform.

Original text: www.toutiao.com/article/1841512573855752/

Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.