▲ U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan speaks during a meeting with reporters at the White House in Washington on Jan. 10, 2025. (Yonhap)

Sullivan-alliance-N Korea

Sullivan calls Yoon's martial law bid 'shocking,' 'wrong,' says alliance still set for success despite turmoil

By Song Sang-ho

WASHINGTON, Jan. 10 (Yonhap) -- U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Friday portrayed impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol's botched martial law bid as "shocking" and "wrong," but voiced confidence that "structurally," the South Korea-U.S. alliance is "incredibly healthy."

Speaking in a press meeting, he also noted that the Biden administration was not able to make "substantial" progress in the efforts toward the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula with the security trend moving in the "wrong" direction, but stressed America and its allies are in a "materially better" position to deter North Korean threats.

He also expressed concerns over the "risk" of North Korea using the ongoing political turmoil in South Korea to engage in provocative activities, but underscored that Pyongyang "should make no mistake" given the strength of the bilateral alliance.

"I think the declaration of martial law in early December was shocking. I think it was wrong, and now we are watching a constitutional procedure play out. We want to make sure that it does so without violence, that it does so in accordance with the ROK Constitution," Sullivan said, using the acronym for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea.

"I believe that the ROK will come out the other side of this with strong democratic institutions, with a continued deep commitment to the U.S.-ROK alliance," he added.

South Korea has been thrust into a period of political uncertainty following Yoon's short-lived martial law declaration on Dec. 3 and his subsequent impeachment on Dec. 14.

On North Korea, he admitted to the absence of visible headway in long-elusive endeavors to denuclearize the recalcitrant regime.

"We, like our predecessors, going back to Clinton, we're obviously not able to make substantial progress on the issue of denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. The trend there continues in the wrong direction, as it has under multiple presidents," he said.

"I didn't come in with particularly optimistic views on what we would be able to accomplish, but that's an area that remains of considerable concern."

However, the top security official pointed to progress in efforts to bolster deterrence against North Korea in tandem with South Korea, Japan and other partners.

"We'll see what the new administration is able to do, but what I do think on the North Korea file is that we put ourselves and our allies in a materially better position to deter and deal with that threat, even if we were not able to directly abate the threat," he said.

Asked about the possibility of the North launching military provocations at a time of political uncertainty in Seoul, Sullivan noted a "risk" of the regime's potential saber-rattling.

"But I would just say even today, in the midst of the ongoing political turmoil in the ROK, the U.S.-ROK alliance remains strong, our deterrent remains strong, our resolve remains strong, and North Korea should make no mistake about that," he said.

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