Republican committee chief urges 'heightened vigilance' over S. Korea-China ties: report

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 (Yonhap) -- The Republican head of the congressional committee on U.S.-China competition, Rep. John Moolenaar, has urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to remain vigilant over the warming ties between South Korea and China, stating that it poses significant risks to the United States, a report disclosed on Wednesday.

In a letter to Rubio, Moolenaar cited the deepening leader-level relations between Seoul and Beijing, South Korean investments in the Chinese semiconductor industry, and the unfair treatment of U.S. firms in Korea compared to their Chinese counterparts, according to Reuters. Moolenaar emphasized that South Korea, though a major American ally, could potentially experience a structural shift in its alignment due to the unprecedented pace of leader-level engagement between Seoul and Beijing.

This includes Xi Jinping's visit to South Korea for the first time in 11 years last year and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's visit to China this year, the first such visit since 2019. Moolenaar also expressed concerns over the widening gap between South Korea and the U.S., citing South Korea's apparent disinterest in supporting a regional response to any Chinese aggression against Taiwan.

He pointed to Lee Jae Myung's 2024 campaign remark, "What does it matter to us what happens in the Taiwan Strait?" He called for a State Department briefing on South Korea-China relations developments by October 31. Tensions have simmered between Seoul and Washington, as U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed frustration over South Korea's perceived lack of support during the Iran war.

In April, Trump remarked that South Korea was not helpful to the U.S., despite its troops being stationed in harm's way in the Asian nation, which is located right next to North Korea's nuclear force.