Moon Chung-in, a former special adviser to former South Korean President Moon Jae-in, warned that Seoul's U.S. alliance could draw the country into Washington's rivalry with China over the coming decades.
Former Foreign Minister Song Min-soon, who held the post from 2006 to 2008, countered that the alliance was “a reality” rather than either a blessing or a curse. The Korea Herald reported their exchange at an Oct. 21 panel of foreign policy experts at Seoul National University.
Moon said the alliance might become “a curse, not a blessing” in 20 to 30 years. He argued that Washington appeared to see South Korea as a base for containing China, which could leave Seoul entangled in the rivalry between the two powers.
Moon also said the alliance left South Korea facing a security dilemma. From 2017 to 2021, he advised Moon Jae-in on unification, diplomacy and national security. He is now a professor emeritus at Yonsei University.
