The White House has said South Korea held a free and fair presidential election and the South Korea-U.S. alliance remains “ironclad.”

A White House official made the statement Tuesday in response to a request from the Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency to comment on the results of Tuesday’s snap election. 

The official said that while “South Korea had a free and fair election, the United States remains concerned and opposed to Chinese interference and influence in democracies around the world.”

Observers say it is unprecedented for the White House to include such critical comments in a statement about a South Korean election. 

In doing so, commentators say Washington aimed to make clear that the South Korea-U.S. alliance will remain strong under the Lee Jae-myung government, while indirectly asking the new government to distance itself from China.