U.S. Senator Dave McCormick (Republican-Pennsylvania), a close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, stated that the South Korea-U.S. alliance is in the process of being "reset," describing it as couples counseling rather than a divorce.

According to the U.S. think tank Hudson Institute on October 18 (local time), McCormick made the remarks during a conversation held in Washington, D.C., on October 16 with Mike Gallagher, former chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.

"We are resetting the relationship," McCormick explained. "When you reset a relationship, feelings get hurt and friction occurs."

"Even in a marriage, sometimes the balance gets out of sync, leading one side to tell the other that adjustments are needed," he emphasized, adding that the South Korea-U.S. relationship is "going through couples counseling, not getting a divorce."

He added, "We need more from our Asian allies. The relationship was imbalanced, and they acknowledge that too," and expressed his belief that "we are on the path to a much deeper and stronger relationship."

McCormick recently returned to the United States after visiting Japan and South Korea.

During his trip to South Korea, he visited the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and Hanwha Ocean's Geoje shipyard.

He also met with Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul.

Citing the massive investment pledges in the U.S. made by both South Korea and Japan as prime examples of the alliance realignment, McCormick noted, "I heard no controversy (during our meetings in Korea). The conversations were entirely focused on where to invest that capital and how to utilize it."

Mentioning South Korea's pledge to purchase USD 25 billion worth of U.S. military equipment and its plans to increase the defense budget, he evaluated, "We haven't reached the necessary level yet, but we are moving in a direction that aligns with bearing our fair share."

McCormick argued that the United States and its allies must innovate technology faster than China and produce more defense materiel in the long run, asserting, "We must train, plan, and fight with our allies as a single military force and a single military capability."

"If we get this right, China will look across the Taiwan Strait every morning and conclude, 'Not today,'" he said.

(Photo: Yonhap News)