(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Min Seon-hee = U.S. Senator Dave McCormick (Republican, Pennsylvania) pointed out on the 8th that Korea's investment in the United States "lags behind Japan."
Rep. McCormick met with Korean reporters at the Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul that day and said, "I pointed out to Korean officials that Japan has moved faster than Korea in some investments," and "the intention was that the speed (implementation of investments) should be increased."
He emphasized, "The United States evaluates very positively Korea's decision to invest $150 billion in shipbuilding and $200 billion in other infrastructure," but added, "What is important now is to actually proceed with these investments."
Regarding the reason for the delay in Korea's investment in the United States, he said, "It is a very complex issue, and both sides (Korea and the United States) have a lot of work to do," and added, "Investment funds should actually begin to be invested sooner rather than later."
When asked about the recent increase in concerns surrounding Korea-US relations, he said, "One of the reasons I came to Korea was to once again emphasize the importance of Korea-US relations," but added, "That doesn't mean there won't be differences of opinion between the two countries from time to time."
In particular, he explained that during the meeting with the Korean side, some of the Coupang issue was also discussed, "It was in the context that American technology companies wanted to be treated fairly."
He added, “We want American technology companies to be treated fairly and for fair trade to take place,” adding, “This includes not only Coupang but other companies as well.”
However, Rep. McCormick emphasized, "I think the Korea-U.S. relationship is one of the best relationships the U.S. has," and added, "For Asian security, the relationships between the U.S. and Korea and the U.S. and Japan must be very strong."
Regarding Korea's introduction of nuclear-powered submarines, he said that increasing Korea's defense budget and expanding naval power are important, but said, "We have not looked into specific issues related to nuclear fuel."
Regarding President Donald Trump's reported request to build 10 U.S. warships in Korea, he evaluated, "It is a fully feasible option for Korea to not only invest in the U.S. shipbuilding industry but also supply ships directly."
He added, “During this visit, I saw firsthand some of Korea’s shipbuilding capabilities,” and added, “By cooperating with Korea, we will be able to accelerate the expansion of America’s shipbuilding capabilities.”
While not giving a specific outlook on the possibility of holding a North Korea-US summit, he said, “President Trump strongly believes that it is important to have open dialogue with anyone, and I also support this.”
However, he emphasized, "Looking at North Korea's recent missile launches, we must accept North Korea as a real threat," and "We must approach China's intentions very skeptically, and we must maintain a very skeptical attitude toward North Korea's intentions as well."
Rep. McCormick visited Korea following Japan, and visited the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and Hanwha Ocean's Geoje business site the day before. On this day, he met with Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun and Minister of National Defense Kang Shin-cheol, and also discussed ways to cooperate with businessmen in the defense and shipbuilding industries.
