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Key U.S. politicians favoring South Korea alliance take Senate leadership roles

Published: 08 Jan. 2025, 10:40

U.S. Senator James Risch speaks during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee on May 31, 2023. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Prominent U.S. politicians, known to value the South Korea-U.S. alliance, have been named to chair the Senate committees on foreign relations and armed services that have a substantial influence over America's foreign and security policy.

Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho) and Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) have taken the helm of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Armed Services Committee, respectively, in the 119th Congress that kicked off last week, according to reports and other sources. The GOP has a thin majority in both the Senate and House of Representatives.

Their chairmanship comes amid lingering concerns that incoming President Donald Trump's America First agenda and his perceived transactional approach in diplomatic and trade policies could weaken Washington's ties with U.S. allies and partners.

Korean policymakers have been keenly watching the makeup of key U.S. Senate and House committees as they could affect U.S. policy legislation related to the Seoul-Washington alliance, diplomacy with North Korea and other issues related to the Korean Peninsula and the broader Indo-Pacific region.

Last year, Risch and Wicker floated the idea of the United States redeploying tactical nuclear arms to South Korea for more robust deterrence against persistent North Korean threats, as Pyongyang has been forging ahead with its nuclear and missile programs in the absence of meaningful diplomacy aimed at removing, freezing or slowing its menacing weapons projects.

During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing in May, Risch called for Washington to look into options for redeploying nuclear weapons to assure its allies as he stressed that East Asian allies worry about Pyongyang being "on track to field a diverse nuclear arsenal in the hundreds."

Wicker also brought up the issue again in last year's report titled "21st Century Peace Through Strength: A Generational Investment in the U.S. Military."

"Because there is no immediate diplomatic solution in sight, the United States must ensure that deterrence does not erode on the Korean Peninsula," Wicker said.

"That means maintaining readiness with regular U.S.-Republic of Korea military exercises, keeping a persistent U.S. military presence on the Korean Peninsula and exploring new options — such as nuclear-sharing agreements in the Indo-Pacific and redeployment of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula — to bolster deterrence on the Korean Peninsula," he added.

Both Risch and Wicker were ranking members of their respective committees in the previous Congress.

Meanwhile, Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) has been confirmed as the chair of the Senate Finance Committee that deals with federal tax policy and the implementation of foreign trade agreements.

Yonhap