A senior U.S. official stressed the need to strengthen cooperation between the U.S. and South Korea, highlighting the similarity between Washington's Indo-Pacific Strategy and Seoul's New Southern Policy.

Marc Knapper, deputy assistant secretary of state for Korea and Japan, made the remarks during a virtual seminar jointly hosted by the Washington-based Atlantic Council and the Korea Foundation. 

Knapper said that South Korea's New Southern Policy is focused on the three pillars of Ps -- peace, people and prosperity.

He continued that the South Korean policy is a "perfect fit" with the U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy, which has its principles of openness, inclusiveness, transparency, good governance and respect for international norms. 

Seoul's New Southern Policy is aimed at promoting exchanges and cooperation with South and Southeast Asian nations, while the Indo-Pacific strategy is focused on checking China's growing influence in the region. The U.S. official's remarks are seen as Washington's repeated calls for Seoul to join its efforts to keep China in check.