The Armed Services Committees of the US Senate and House have directed the US Department of Defense (Department of War) to assess the Chinese Communist Party's influence in Korea from a US security perspective.
According to a companion report to the 2027 fiscal year National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) released by the Senate Armed Services Committee Wednesday, an item titled "Assessment of the Chinese Communist Party's malign influence in Korea" was listed under "items of special interest." It is the first time such a request has been included in the annually published NDAA report.
The report stated that "the Secretary of Defense should provide a briefing to the committee no later than May 1, 2027, detailing the current state of the Chinese Communist Party's exercise of malign influence in Korea and its impact on US security and commercial interests." It also emphasized that "the briefing should include, at a minimum, an assessment of the degree of risk that China's malign influence poses to US Forces Korea." It added that "the briefing should also include an assessment of China's negative impact on securing dual-use commercial materials essential to security cooperation between Korea and the US."
The House Armed Services Committee also wrote in its report that it "directs the Secretary of Defense to hold a briefing for the committee no later than December 1 this year, detailing the Chinese Communist Party's malign influence in Korea and its impact on US defense interests." It also stated that "the briefing should include an assessment of whether the growth of Chinese technology firms in Korea poses a defense threat." In addition, it said the briefing "should include an assessment of whether there are measures Korea can take to support the growth of US technology firms," adding that the report "should also address whether there are measures Korea can take to resolve Chinese threats affecting the security of US Forces Korea."
