Kim Min-seok, South Korea's prime minister, during an interview at his office in Seoul, South Korea, on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025. Photo: VCG

In a recent interview with US media, South Korea's Prime Minister Kim Min-seok addressed how to maintain balance amid US-China power play, noting that South Korea's terrain has tilted towards the US. At the same time, he suggested that if Korea demonstrates appropriate efforts to maintain its relationship with China, it can still strive to maintain its relationship with China. 

Kim gave an exclusive interview to Bloomberg News in Seoul, as Bloomberg reported on Thursday. During the interview, he touched on the trade negotiations and visa issue between South Korea and the US, also addressing how to maintain balance amid the competition between China and the US.

Regarding to the visa issue, Kim told the Bloomberg News that "Without resolving the visa issue, meaningful progress remains virtually impossible." 

The visa issue hit the allies just as South Korea and the US are engaged in intense negotiations to finalize a trade deal that sets a 15 percent tariff on South Korean goods including automobiles. Finalizing the agreement has proven difficult as the two sides remain divided over how to structure and execute the $350 billion investment package, a central pillar of the agreement, said the report.

Kim's remarks conveyed the concerns of South Korea and its enterprises and is a reasonable expression of its national demands, as trade issues constitute a pivotal factor in South Korea-US relations, Lü Chao, an expert at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung also voiced dissatisfaction earlier this week regarding the economic pressure exerted by the United States on South Korea. Lee said that South Korea's economy could fall into crisis rivaling its 1997 meltdown if the government accepts current US demands in stalled trade talks without safeguards, Reuters reported on Monday.

During the Bloomberg interview, the host also asked Kim about how South Korea could manage the tech rivalry between China and the US.

Kim said in the interview video that "Naturally, we strive to maintain good relations with all neighboring countries," noting that "However, we understand that the overall plate we stand on has tilted slightly compared to the past in what way people quite well. The terrain itself has tilted slightly compared to the past."

When pressed further on in what way, Kim stated that "The terrain itself has tilted towards strengthening our relationship with the US."

The prime minister, according to the interview, also said that "I think China understands this too" in response to the question regarding what that means for China-Korea relations. 

"If Korea, standing on this larger terrain, demonstrates appropriate efforts to maintain its relationship with China, understanding the changes terrain, then even on that terrain, Korea can still strive to maintain its relationship with China," Kim added.

How to strike a balance between China and the US has long been a persistent challenge for successive South Korean administrations, said Lü, adding that President Lee's remarks and the visits to China by South Korea's senior officials reflect that the current South Korean administration is seeking to reverse the one-sided tilt of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration and steer South Korea back onto the right track of China-South Korea relations.

"We will stand together with the US in the new global order, as well as supply chains centered on the US, but there is a need for us to manage our relationship with China," South Korean president told the Times magazine on September 18, adding that otherwise, there's "a risk that South Korea could become the front line of a battle between two different blocs."

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, while departing for Beijing for the South Korea-China foreign ministers' meeting on September 17, said "China is a very important neighbor to us," and that "We will explore developmental directions for South Korea-China relations and discuss pending issues."

Lü noted that despite the presence of anti-China forces within South Korea and the pressure from the US tariff threat, the current South Korean administration has maintained a positive stance toward China—a development he views as positive. However, the expert added that it remains important to keep a close watch on South Korea's concrete actions going forward.