A U.S. senator said the United States can maintain “strategic flexibility” of its troops in South Korea while also providing extended deterrence to protect the Korean Peninsula.

Andy Kim, a Korean American senator from New Jersey and a member of the Democratic Party, made the remarks on Thursday during a meeting with South Korean reporters at the Capitol in Washington.

Kim said the United States can assure South Korea of its deterrence capabilities to defend the Korean Peninsula while maintaining strategic flexibility to respond to any contingencies in the Indo-Pacific region.

The remarks came amid concerns in Seoul over the issue of strategic flexibility, which would broaden the role of U.S. Forces Korea beyond its traditional role of deterring North Korea to potentially include countering China or responding to a crisis in the Taiwan Strait.

Earlier this week, President Lee Jae Myung said on his way to visit the United States that it would be difficult for South Korea to easily agree with the U.S. demand for strategic flexibility regarding U.S. Forces Korea.