South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun on Sunday concluded a four-day visit to the US where he reaffirmed the Lee Jae-myung administration’s commitment to Washington’s imperialist war drive against China. The trip also paves the way for a summit between Lee and US President Trump later this month.

Cho met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on July 31, the first since Cho took office on July 19. The two discussed the “modernization” of the US-South Korean military alliance, which, according to South Korea’s Foreign Ministry, is being carried out “in order to enhance the alliance’s strategic importance and further strengthen it amidst the changing regional security and economic environment.”

Since coming to power two months ago, the so-called “liberal” Lee administration has rapidly moved to align itself with Trump’s demand that allies throughout the Asia-Pacific region prepare for war with China. This is what is meant by “modernization” and Lee’s support for it, which belies the claims that his administration is seeking better relations with Beijing or to reduce tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

There is nothing defensive in these war preparations. Washington, which is seeking to offset its relative economic decline and block the rise of China as a competitor, is using its military to surround and goad Beijing into a war, particularly over Taiwan. The Trump administration is demanding allies increase military spending to 5 percent of GDP to prepare for this conflict, which for South Korea means approximately doubling its military budget.

Washington is working with Seoul to ensure that US Forces Korea (USFK), the name of the American military stationed in South Korea, can use the country as a base for attacks. Ostensibly, the US military’s purpose in South Korea has been to “defend” the South from North Korea. While this has never been true, Washington and Seoul are using this as the pretext for military “modernization.”

A senior official in Lee’s administration, speaking anonymously, told South Korean reporters in Washington as Cho and Rubio were meeting, “It is possible that the role and nature of USFK can change for various reasons.” The official stated that this is due to “evolving geopolitics, technological shifts, and the growing strategic influence of China.” While this has long been discussed behind the scenes, it is the first time a leading South Korean official has publicly acknowledged it.

Any war between the US and China would immediately involve South Korea, home to 28,500 US soldiers and numerous bases capable of launching air sorties into China. The Osan Air Base, headquarters to the US Seventh Air Force, is just 976 kilometers from Beijing.

The US and South Korean militaries are closely intertwined and regularly stage massive war games on and around the Korean Peninsula, which are now increasingly involving Japan as part of their trilateral military cooperation. Furthermore, in the event of war the US takes operational control (OPCON) of South Korea’s huge military.

Cho also prefaced his trip to Washington with a two-day stop in Tokyo, meeting with his Japanese counterpart Takeshi Iwaya and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. He reaffirmed Seoul’s commitment to the US, South Korea, Japan trilateral military cooperation, part of the system of alliances the US has built in the region.

Seoul’s support for Washington’s war planning can be seen in the recent trade deal reached between the two countries shortly before Cho’s arrival in the US. Trump announced on June 30 that Seoul and Washington had agreed to a tariff deal in which the so-called “reciprocal” tariffs and auto tariffs would each be lowered from 25 percent to 15 percent. It also included a deal to increase cooperation on shipbuilding, dubbed “Make American Shipbuilding Great Again.”

Shipbuilding was in fact the key to reaching an agreement, according to South Korean Finance Minister Gu Yun-cheol, who called it the “most noteworthy aspect” of the trade deal. Under the $150 billion package, Seoul will assist in building new ships and shipyards in the US, training personnel and maintaining or overhauling US naval vessels. Trump has emphasized that boosting American ship-building capacity was essential in preparing for conflict with China.

This is one of the main objectives behind the US tariffs and trade war measures, which Trump is exploiting to isolate Beijing economically and to ensure allies like South Korea are fully lined up with Washington’s imperialist war plans.

Despite the Lee Jae-myung administration’s seemingly softer approach to China, there should be no confusion regarding Seoul’s agenda. Foreign Minister Cho gave an interview to the Washington Post, published on August 3, taking aim at China. “In Northeast Asia, we have another problem of China becoming somewhat problematic with its neighbors. We have seen what China has been doing in the South China Sea and in the Yellow Sea.”

Cho declared, “But we will try to send a message to China: ‘We want to maintain a good relationship, and [see] you abide by international law in not only bilateral, but in regional affairs.’”

In other words, Seoul promotes the lie from Washington that it is Beijing that violates international law and that the US stands for the “free and open” Indio-Pacific. In this manner, Seoul backs Washington’s efforts to goad Beijing into a war over Taiwan by enflaming territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

In line with this, Cho and Rubio last week, according to the US State Department, “emphasized that maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait was an indispensable element of security and prosperity for the international community.” They added that US, South Korean and Japanese military cooperation “plays a vital role in deterrence and resilience against regional security threats.”

Washington uses references to Taiwan to accuse Beijing of destabilizing the region. In fact, the US is seeking to goad China into attacking Taiwan by systematically undermining the One China policy that has been the bedrock of relations with Beijing. Since 1979 when Washington cut off diplomatic relations with Taipei, the US has de facto acknowledged Beijing to be the legitimate government of all China, including Taiwan.

Under successive Democratic and Republican administrations, however, the US has armed Taiwan to the tune of billions of dollars, conducted so-called “freedom of navigation” naval operations in the Taiwan Strait, deployed troops to the island and emboldened the Lai Ching-te administration to move closer to declaring independence. Taipei has boosted its own plans for military expansion.

Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in May, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that war with China over Taiwan was “imminent” and demanded that US allies and partners dramatically boost military spending and preparedness. As Cho’s visit to Washington makes clear, South Korea under Lee Jae-myung is committed to waging war alongside the US.