South Korea-U.S. Summit: strategic implications of the technical alliance 

Kim Kisoo   

(kskim@sejong.org​)     

Senior Research Fellow,

The Sejong Institute

English Abstract

The joint statement of the 2021 Republic of Korea-U.S. summit recognizes “the importance of telecommunications security and vendor diversity” and agrees to “increase resiliency in our supply chains”, ultimately targeting China. The U.S.-China economic competition over the past few years led the U.S. to decouple from the Chinese economy. In other words, the U.S. seeks to separate China from the U.S., and then from the rest of the world economically. In a broad sense, China’s position in the global supply value chain will be reduced or removed. The U.S. also needed a new supply chain to provide its own necessities. Therefore, “telecommunications security and vendor diversity” and “to increase resiliency in our supply chains” were mentioned. The term “technical alliance” is not unnatural for the U.S. and South Korea. An important milestone for future relations between South Korea and the U.S., and between South Korea and China, was set at this summit. It may be adequate for many experts to say that the dichotomous era of the U.S. is security and China is economy is waning.