In combating China, McCormick wants help from South Korea and Japan

U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) speaks with attendees at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s 2026 Annual Leadership Summit in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Aug. 31, 2026.(Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)

(The Center Square) – Following a four-day trip to South Korea and Japan earlier this month, U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., emphasized the importance of those alliances for the United States against China and North Korea.

“We're in an existential battle with our primary adversary in the world, China, and we're vying for leadership in AI, economic leadership, military leadership, and in order to maintain America's role as a global superpower, we're going to need to rely on great alliances,” McCormick said during a press call with reporters on Oct. 14. “And two of our most important alliances in the world in checking China is Japan and South Korea.”

“Both have just made substantial additions to their defense budget,” he continued. “There's huge opportunity for collaboration in the defense industrial base, not only with shipbuilding with Hanwha, but with weapon systems, with drones, with mass production of autonomous vehicles and weapons.”

McCormick, a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he met with defense ministers in Japan and South Korea during his visit overseas earlier this month.

Those meetings, McCormick said, focused on attracting additional investment to Pennsylvania and strengthening economic ties. But, he also highlighted ways they could work together on national security for both countries and “further build on the alliances that already exist as we think of ways to make sure that we're countering China's rise and to make sure that we remain the global superpower in the world.”

The country’s relationship with China emerged as a key issue in McCormick’s 2024 race for U.S. Senate against incumbent Democrat Bob Casey.

In 2023, McCormick unveiled a six-point plan, which he said aimed at “shaking up” the relationship between the two countries. McCormick accused Democrats of getting “China wrong for more than two decades,” while Democrats criticized his previous business relationship with China when he was the CEO of Bridgewater Associates.

During a speech at the Hudson Institute on Friday, McCormick, once again, described the Chinese Communist Party as “America’s most dangerous adversary,” and said a winning strategy against them is “increasingly dependent on strengthening our relationships with allies like Japan and South Korea.”

While McCormick envisions a reconfigured relationship with China, he also acknowledged a change was needed between the U.S. and South Korea.

Business Korea reports during that discussion, McCormick characterized the current state of U.S.-South Korea relations not as a prelude to a breakup, but as a process of adjustment, using an analogy of a married couple seeking counseling to improve their relationship rather than preparing for a divorce.

His remarks, according to Business Korea, conveyed that while some friction and difficult conversations may arise during this adjustment process, the ultimate outcome could be a stronger partnership.

The outlet also reports that McCormick said the previous division of roles within the U.S.-South Korea alliance had been imbalanced and stressed the need for those Asian allies to assume greater responsibility.

President Donald Trump is scheduled to go to Asia next month and previously hinted that he might meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump told reporters on Monday that he wasn’t sure if he was going to meet with him during his visit to China, but said that he “gets along with him very well.”

Democrats have criticized Trump’s relationship with the dictator. Vice President Kamala Harris, during a presidential debate in 2024, accused Trump of exchanging “love letters” with Kim Jong Un.

During Trump’s first term, U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-2nd District, introduced legislation that would have prohibited Trump from lifting sanctions on North Korea “absent certification that it is improving its appalling human rights record.”

In response to a question from The Center Square on Oct. 14, McCormick said that Trump’s potential meeting with Kim Jong Un never came up during his visit, but noted that he went to the spot where Trump had previously met the North Korean leader.

“It's like seeing two worlds: a world of democracy and capitalism, and a world of authoritarianism, and a command economy,” McCormick said. "So, for those folks that are advocating communism or socialism, we have a real-world experiment playing out, side by side.”

He mentioned that the distance between Seoul and the demilitarized zone, called DMZ for short, is only roughly 50 to 60 kilometers.

“Obviously, the South Koreans are concerned about North Korea building nuclear weapon and ballistic missile capability that could threaten the whole region and certainly threaten South Korea,” he said in response to a question from The Center Square.

McCormick said, given the close nature of Seoul and the DMZ, having “U.S. forces there side by side with the South Korean forces is really critical.”

While Trump’s potential meeting with Kim Jong Un wasn’t brought up to McCormick, the Pennsylvania senator wanted to bring to light one thing that was brought up that he believes was worth noting.

That, McCormick said, was “what's happening with North Korea working side by side with the Russians in Ukraine.”

“I think that's a really bad fact pattern,” he said. “I think that's showing these connections and alliances between North Korea, Iran, Russia, and China to some degree, which has been a supplier for many of the drone engines.”

“That’s a problem, and what's happening as a result of that is North Korea is getting access to more advanced technologies, and they're also getting combat experience because they're on the ground in this next generation of warfare,” he continued. “So, I think that's something we got to keep our eye on.”

McCormick said that he came away thinking that the United States needs to “stay very vigilant” with “our peace through strength” as it relates to North Korea, China, Russia, and Iran.