Biden Seeks to Mend U.S. Relationship with South Korea

The U.S. and South Korea have endured a rocky relationship under the Trump administration (Flickr).

President-Elect Joe Biden and South Korean President Moon Jae-in reaffirmed their countries’ strong alliance and reiterated their continued efforts to maintain peace in the Korean peninsula over a phone call on November 12. 

The possibility of strong ties between Biden and Moon would heavily contrast the current strained relationship South Korea has with the United States under President Trump’s leadership. 

The primary cause of Trump and South Korea’s rocky relationship is Trump's demands that South Korea pay more to host U.S. troops in the region while simultaneously hinting that South Korea was exploiting its relationship with the U.S. Meanwhile, Biden told South Korea's Yonhap News on October 29 that he would "stand with South Korea, strengthen our alliance to safeguard peace in East Asia and beyond, rather than extort Seoul with reckless threats to remove our troops."

The Trump administration has largely focused on U.S. dynamics with North Korea. Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un discussed the possibility of denuclearization at their 2018 summit, but little has been done since, and working-level talks collapsed last year. However, the nature of the United States’ dealings with the Korean peninsula are expected to change heavily, with Biden shifting the focus to South Korea.