S. Korea sees US by its side no matter who's in the White House

Seoul expects to work with new US leader on confronting Pyongyang's nuclear threat

NEW YORK/SEOUL - South Korea's government is not worried about which candidate wins the US presidential election, since it expects to work with whoever takes the White House to confront the nuclear threat from North Korea, according to a senior official in Seoul.

Vice-Unification Minister Kim Soo-kyung said in an interview with Bloomberg that while it has become far harder for North Koreans to escape the repressive state, there has been a jump in the flow of elites from the North fleeing Mr Kim Jong Un's regime and defecting to South Korea.

Ahead of the US vote, some South Koreans have been worried about what they see as an omission in the Democratic Party's platform when it comes to seeking North Korea's denuclearisation, she said, adding that the alliance between Washington and Seoul is stronger than ever.

"We are not that worried about what happens after the US election," Ms Kim said on Aug 23, just hours after the Democrats concluded their national convention.

Regardless of the outcome, "we are going to deter North Korea's threat of nuclear weapons based on the strong alliance between (the) two countries", she said.