By Yoon Won-sup
Staff Report

Washington will keep the ``key alliance’’ with Seoul as seen in the past 50 years despite the changed circumstances, a United States top envoy here said Thursday.

``I am well aware that the ROK-U.S. relationship is not what it used to be, and there are lots of challenges and even problems,’’ U.S. Ambassador to Seoul Christopher Hill said during a seminar with lawmakers at the National Assembly.

``However, the two countries will remain a key and strong alliance for another 50 years.’’

He made the comment while answering a question cast by Rep. Chung Mong-joon on the U.S. move to throw more weight behind Japan on the security alliance in Asia.

Hill, who presented his credentials to President Roh Moo-hyun on Wednesday, also stressed the bilateral relations are not based on ``big brother’’ and ``little brother’’ but on mutual respect and affection.

``My approach to this alliance is optimism and dedication,’’ the ambassador continued. ``The security alliance is the most important issue to both countries.’’

Asked about U.S.’ plan to slash its forces in Korea by one-third by the end of next year, he said his country will introduce more high-tech weapons to fill the possible security gap.

In the meeting organized by the Study Group on Parliamentary Diplomacy, the ambassador also said that he will push for the ROK-U.S. free trade agreement to further promote bilateral economic cooperation.

``I will do my best to eliminate any obstacles which prevent the two countries from signing the FTA,’’ Hill said. ``It is very important for us to have better economic relations, and the FTA can be one answer.’’

When Rep. Sohn Bong-scuk raised opposition to Seoul’s troop dispatch to Iraq, Hill, whose country leads the military coalition in Iraq, requested the lawmaker think of the matter not within the frame of ROK-U.S. relations, but at an international level.

Given South Korea’s international status, the country has a global responsibility to protect democracy and human rights in the world, the ambassador added.

The new ambassador’s first official move in Seoul is considered his first step to explain his country’s policy on the Korean peninsula to lawmakers.

``Sooner or later, U.S. Ambassador Hill will urge South Korea’s lawmakers to extend Seoul’s troop dispatch deadline, which is set by next December, far into next year,’’ a source to foreign affairs said.

Hill, who served as U.S. ambassador to Warsaw in a previous stint, is known to have contributed much to making Poland the largest contingent in Iraq following the U.S. and Britain.

``The U.S. seems to be urging South Korea to join its efforts to reconstruct war-torn Iraq in return for their security support for us,’’ said Yoo Jay-kun, head of the study group consisting of 51 ruling and opposition legislators.

yoonwonsup@koreatimes.co.kr