In the midst of rising tensions between South Korea and China, Seoul withdrew the word "strategic partnership" from its newest national security paper, which described the two nations' relationship.
Furthermore, a recent study indicated that approximately 80% of South Koreans do not trust communist China.
The Yoon Suk-yeol government presented the most recent version of South Korea's National Security Strategy, a high-level document outlining the country's foreign and security policy objectives, on June 7.
North Korea's improved nuclear missile capacity was classified as "the most serious challenge" in the new strategy paper, which highlighted forceful countermeasures and a new strategic focus on the Korea-US relationship. alliance, as well as collaboration among Korea, the United States, and Japan.
The phrase "strategic partnership" was omitted from the report, which described the country's relations with China during the previous administrations of Lee, Park, and Moon. It was replaced with the phrase "moving toward a healthier and more mature relationship based on mutual respect and reciprocity."
It also advocated using "an upright diplomatic tone based on national interests and principles," and stated that "THAAD is a security sovereignty issue for South Korea."
THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) is an anti-missile system built and constructed in the United States that was placed in South Korea between 2016 and 2017 as a deterrent against a future North Korean missile assault.
However, Beijing has argued that the deployment of THAAD has an impact on China's security and has subsequently implemented a number of countermeasures against South Korea.
Furthermore, the previous administrations' order of countries in East Asian diplomacy was modified from "China, Japan, and Russia" to "Japan, China, and Russia."
According to a senior source in the South Korean presidential office, listing diplomatic countries in the order of allied and friendly relations is customary, adding that "it is the standard to arrange countries in the orders that are closer to South Korea in terms of the rule of law, constitution, freedom, and value orientation."
