Institute for National Security Strategy President Kim Ki-jung has assessed that the Biden administration’s alliance-centered diplomacy is both an opportunity and a constraint for South Korea. 

Kim made the assessment on Monday during a symposium on international security in Seoul organized by the Institute for National Security Strategy and the Research Institute for National Security Affairs at the Korean National Defense University. 

Kim said diplomacy centered on the South Korea-U.S. alliance could use the alliance as part of Washington's encirclement strategy of China, and would be the front and back of the same coin. 

His remarks suggest that with such diplomacy, the South Korea-U.S. alliance is expected to become stronger but at the same time, South Korea will face a greater burden to pressure China as a U.S. ally.