Trump's National Security Adviser Vows to Strengthen Relations With South Korea

US President-elect Donald Trump's pick for national security adviser stated that the alliance between the United States and South Korea is important for both sides and relations should be further strengthened.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The alliance between the United States and South Korea is important for both sides and relations should be further strengthened, Mike Flynn, US President-elect Donald Trump's pick for national security adviser, told a delegation of South Korean officials, Korean media reported on Saturday.

"He characterized the Korea-U.S. alliance as a vital alliance, and the basis of the alliance should continue to be strengthened," South Korea's deputy National Security Adviser Cho Tae-yong told reporters after the meeting with Flynn on Friday, as cited by Yonhap.

According to Cho, Flynn said that Trump's administration would prioritize the North Korean nuclear issue. The two sides also discussed the benefits of the free trade agreement and "key policies of our government."

Cho's delegation has been on a visit to the United States to meet with Trump's new key advisers.

In a New York Times interview published in late March, Trump indicated that “[The United States] may very well be better off” if South Korea obtained its own nuclear arsenal “against North Korea." He also cast doubt on the stationing of US forces in South Korea and the free trade agreement between the two countries.

Trump secured a victory in the US presidential election on November 8 with 290 electoral votes against his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton's 232.