US envoy nominee Michelle Steel vows to strengthen Seoul-Washington alliance

By Song Sang-ho

WASHINGTON, May 20 (Yonhap) -- The nominee for the top U.S. envoy to South Korea on Wednesday highlighted her commitment to enhancing America's national security and economic prosperity by strengthening the Seoul-Washington alliance.

During her confirmation hearing at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Michelle Steel, a former Korean American congresswoman, made the remarks amid expectations for her role in addressing a range of pending tasks with Seoul, including "modernizing" the bilateral alliance and strengthening trade cooperation.

"During my two terms in Congress, I worked to strengthen our national security, preserve economic prosperity, protect American workers and businesses, and advance human rights, including on the Ways and Means Committee," she said.

"If confirmed, I would continue that commitment by strengthening our alliance with the Republic of Korea," she added, referring to South Korea by its official name.

She pointed out that for more than seven decades, the bilateral alliance has served as the "linchpin" of peace, security and prosperity in Northeast Asia, while noting that the allies' defense posture remains "ironclad."

"Our combined defense posture anchored by the 28,500 members of U.S. Forces Korea and reinforced by America's extended nuclear deterrent remains ironclad," she said. "It is the bedrock of our alliance."

Commenting on a joint fact sheet that Seoul and Washington released in November to outline bilateral security and trade agreements, Steel said that it entails the "once-in-a-generation" upgrade to security cooperation between the two countries.

"Seoul has pledged to expand its defense spending and to bolster our shared deterrence posture," she said.

"Our governments cooperate closely to respond to the DPRK's unlawful weapons programs. It's expanding cybercrime operations and it is deepening military cooperation with Russia."

DPRK is short for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

On the economic front, Steel described South Korea as one of America's most important trading partners and a critical investor in rebuilding American industry.

"We welcome the U.S.-ROK strategic trade investment deal, in which South Korea commits to invest US$350 billion in U.S. strategic industries and reduce barriers to U.S. exports," she said. "American companies operating in Korea deserve the same market access that Korean companies enjoy in the U.S."

In her opening remarks, Steel cited a Korean saying that means after hardship comes joy, as she introduced a story of her parents who fled North Korea to the South during the 1950-53 Korean War.

Her parents started a family in South Korea and later moved to Japan. Steel moved to the U.S. as her father encouraged her to study in the country that she said her father saw as a "beacon of hope, freedom and prosperity."

"Only in a country like ours could someone like me serve their community in Congress," she said.

Last month, Trump nominated Steel as the U.S. ambassador to South Korea.

If confirmed, Steel will fill the ambassadorial post that has been left vacant since former Ambassador Philip Goldberg left South Korea in January last year.

Steel, if confirmed, would become the second Korean American to serve as U.S. ambassador to South Korea, following former Ambassador Sung Kim, who served in Seoul as ambassador from 2011–2014.