[ROUNDTABLE] Korea must navigate US-China AI rivalry with strategic clarity: experts

Experts at a Korea Times roundtable discussed how Korea should navigate U.S.-China competition in AI, urging cooperation with both countries while drawing clear boundaries around critical technologies and national security. Kim Sung-han called for consultations with Washington on cooperation with China, while participants identified Korean manufacturing and industry expertise as potential strengths. They also warned that Korea should account for military technology gaps when considering wartime operational control transfer.

Lim Jong-in estimated that the United States accounts for 50 percent of frontier AI model development capabilities, China 40 percent and the rest of the world 10 percent.

Lim said China had reached about 90 percent of the U.S. level with models such as DeepSeek and Qwen, while U.S. equipment restrictions and sluggish domestic demand constrained China’s AI development and deployment.

Lim identified memory chips, power infrastructure and energy storage systems as areas where Korea could benefit from U.S. efforts to exclude China from supply chains, while warning of possible Chinese retaliation.

Participants cited the Maven Smart System, developed by Palantir Technologies, as a U.S. military AI platform that helped U.S. forces identify, prioritize and strike more than 1,000 targets in the first 24 hours of the campaign against Iran.

Published Nov 4, 2026 7:00 am KST

Updated Nov 4, 2026 9:46 am KST

Experts favor deeper strategic tech ties with Washington, consumer AI cooperation with Beijing

Kim Sung-han, left, former national security adviser and Korea University professor emeritus, speaks during The Korea Times roundtable "Beyond US-China AI race: Korea's strategic edge" at the company's newsroom in Seoul, Oct. 28. From left are Kim, Reform Party of Korea Rep. Lee Jun-seok and Bone AI CEO Lee Do-kyung. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

With artificial intelligence (AI) emerging as a fiercely contested front in the intensifying rivalry between the United States and China, Korea faces a growing dilemma.

The country is caught between Washington's dominance in frontier AI technologies and China's growing presence in the consumer market with open-weight and open-source models.

To explore how Korea should navigate this geopolitical landscape, The Korea Times hosted a roundtable titled “Beyond U.S.-China AI race: Korea’s strategic edge,” which included the country’s leading experts.

Participants included Kim Sung-han, former national security adviser and Korea University professor emeritus; Reform Party of Korea Rep. Lee Jun-seok; Lim Jong-in, former presidential cybersecurity adviser and Soongsil University AI committee chair; and Bone AI CEO Lee Do-kyung. Korea Times President-Publisher Oh Young-jin moderated the discussion.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping watch a military demonstration from a balcony of the White House in Washington, D.C., Sept. 24. Reuters-Yonhap

Kim stressed that Korea should distinguish between consumer AI and technologies used for national security, calling for high-level consultations between Cheong Wa Dae and the White House to define the scope of cooperation with China.

“Under the ‘small yard, high fence’ strategy, Korea can cooperate with China outside narrowly defined areas involving critical technologies,” Kim said. “But realistically, Seoul needs to consult Washington to ensure such cooperation does not violate U.S. export controls.

“This can be interpreted that cooperation with China is possible in areas other than the most advanced AI technologies that could be used for military purposes or the development of artificial general intelligence.”

A photo taken Oct. 21 shows the logo of China's DeepSeek AI application on a smartphone screen and that of its Kimi AI application on a laptop screen in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. AFP-Yonhap

The comments reflect the recognition that while Korea hopes to become the world's third-largest AI powerhouse, it remains a distant third behind the U.S. and China in terms of technological capabilities, with the gap in frontier AI models and other most advanced technologies becoming increasingly difficult to narrow.

“If we say the world's frontier AI model development capabilities add up to 100 percent, the U.S. would account for 50, China 40 and the rest of the world would share the remaining 10, with each country claiming to be No. 3,” Lim said.

“However, the U.S. remains overwhelmingly dominant in development. China has caught up to about 90 percent of the U.S. level with models such as DeepSeek and Qwen, but U.S. equipment restrictions and sluggish domestic demand constrain its ability to develop and deploy AI models.”

Lim said U.S. efforts to exclude China from its supply chains create opportunities for Korea in memory chips, power infrastructure and energy storage systems. However, he stressed the need for de-risking measures reflecting Korean businesses' interests, given the possibility of Chinese retaliation, such as the dispute over the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system.

U.S. military personnel walk past an F-22 Raptor ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's arrival at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, Sept. 23. EPA-Yonhap

Rep. Lee also warned against excluding China in pursuit of closer cooperation with the U.S. He noted that Chinese AI models offer overwhelming cost advantages, particularly in inference, making it increasingly likely that China will dominate the consumer AI market.

“The U.S. will never share technologies tied to its core national interests, even with its closest allies, just as it refuses to sell the F-22 fighter jet while still offering the F-16 or F-18,” Lee said.

“And China is also unlikely to challenge Korea by developing AI models comparable to the F-22, and the two countries are unlikely to compete directly in many global markets. Ultimately, the question is whether to share AI supply chains with China. … We should open up areas that do not involve core national interests or critical technology leaks.”

Lee Do-kyung also stressed the need for Korea to find areas where it can build its own competitive advantages rather than compete directly with U.S. developers of frontier AI models. The CEO pointed to Korea's manufacturing capabilities and industry-specific operational knowledge as potential strengths.

People try the Palantir Maven Smart System during the Defence Security Equipment International Japan trade event at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan in this May 21, 2025 photo. Reuters-Yonhap

However, participants warned that it would be overly ambitious for Korea to seek cooperation with both countries wherever it sees potential benefits, stressing the need to draw clear boundaries between areas open to cooperation with China and those involving critical security interests.

One example cited by the participants was the Maven Smart System, a U.S. military AI platform developed by Palantir Technologies, which played a key role in the U.S. military campaign against Iran by dramatically accelerating the process of identifying, prioritizing and striking targets, helping U.S. forces hit more than 1,000 targets within the first 24 hours of the operation.

Like the F-22, Maven is considered a technology Washington is unlikely to share with Seoul, while participants said China was unlikely to develop comparable AI-powered command-and-control capabilities soon.

Kim said Korea should take such technological gaps into account when discussing the transfer of wartime operational control from the U.S., arguing that Seoul should use its integration with U.S. military systems and standards as an opportunity to learn from American technology and strengthen its own capabilities before the transfer.

Rep. Lee also raised similar concerns, warning that Korea's existing defense posture could become vulnerable if North Korea develops an effective AI-powered command system ahead of Seoul or acquires such technology from China or Russia.

Participants of The Korea Times roundtable "Beyond US-China AI race: Korea's strategic edge" pose at the company's newsroom in Seoul, Oct. 28. From left are Korea Times President-Publisher Oh Young-jin; Lim Jong-in, former presidential cybersecurity adviser and Soongsil University AI committee chair; Bone AI CEO Lee Do-kyung; Reform Party of Korea Rep. Lee Jun-seok; and Kim Sung-han, former national security adviser and Korea University professor emeritus. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

在《韩国时报》举办的圆桌会议上，专家们探讨了韩国应如何应对美中在人工智能领域的竞争，他们敦促韩国与两国开展合作，同时在关键技术和国家安全方面划清界限。金成汉呼吁就与中国的合作与华盛顿进行磋商，与会者则认为韩国的制造业和产业专长是其潜在优势。他们还警告说，韩国在考虑战时作战指挥权移交时，应考虑到军事技术方面的差距。

林钟仁估计，美国占全球前沿人工智能模型开发能力的 50%，中国占 40%，世界其他地区占 10%。

林表示，中国在DeepSeek和Qwen等模型方面已经达到了美国水平的约90%，而美国的设备限制和国内需求疲软制约了中国人工智能的发展和部署。

林指出，存储芯片、电力基础设施和储能系统等领域，韩国可以从美国将中国排除在供应链之外的努力中受益，同时警告说中国可能会进行报复。

与会者提到，由 Palantir Technologies 开发的 Maven 智能系统是一个美国军方人工智能平台，它帮助美军在对伊朗发动军事行动的头 24 小时内识别、确定优先级并打击了 1000 多个目标。

发布于2026年11月4日 上午7:00（韩国标准时间）

更新于2026年11月4日上午9:46（韩国标准时间）

专家们倾向于与华盛顿深化战略技术联系，与北京在消费人工智能领域开展合作。

10月28日，韩国前国家安全顾问、高丽大学名誉教授金成汉（左）在首尔《韩国时报》新闻中心举行的题为“超越美中人工智能竞赛：韩国的战略优势”的圆桌会议上发表讲话。图中从左至右依次为：金成汉、韩国改革党议员李俊锡和Bone AI首席执行官李道京。照片由《韩国时报》沈贤哲拍摄。

随着人工智能（AI）成为中美竞争日益激烈的战场，韩国面临着日益严峻的困境。

美国正处于华盛顿在前沿人工智能技术领域的统治地位和中国凭借开源和开源模型在消费市场日益增长的影响力之间。

为了探讨韩国应如何应对当前的地缘政治格局，《韩国时报》举办了一场题为“超越美中人工智能竞赛：韩国的战略优势”的圆桌会议，韩国顶尖专家出席了会议。

与会者包括前国家安全顾问、高丽大学名誉教授金成汉；韩国改革党议员李俊锡；前总统网络安全顾问、崇实大学人工智能委员会主席林钟仁；以及Bone AI首席执行官李道京。韩国时报社长吴英镇主持了讨论。

9月24日，美国总统特朗普和中国国家主席习近平在华盛顿白宫阳台上观看军事演习。（路透社-韩联社）

金强调，韩国应区分消费人工智能和用于国家安全的技术，并呼吁青瓦台和白宫进行高级别磋商，以确定与中国的合作范围。

金表示：“在‘小院子，高围墙’战略下，韩国可以在涉及关键技术的狭义领域之外与中国开展合作。但实际上，首尔需要与华盛顿协商，以确保此类合作不违反美国的出口管制规定。”

“这可以理解为，除了可用于军事目的或开发通用人工智能的最先进人工智能技术之外，与中国在其他领域开展合作也是可能的。”

10月21日拍摄的照片显示，在德国法兰克福，一部智能手机屏幕上显示着中国DeepSeek人工智能应用程序的标志，而一台笔记本电脑屏幕上则显示着其Kimi人工智能应用程序的标志。（法新社-韩联社）

这些评论反映出人们认识到，尽管韩国希望成为世界第三大人工智能强国，但在技术能力方面，它仍然远远落后于美国和中国，而且在前沿人工智能模型和其他最先进技术方面的差距越来越难以缩小。

林说：“如果我们说世界前沿人工智能模型开发能力加起来占100%，那么美国占50%，中国占40%，世界其他国家平分剩余的10%，每个国家都声称自己是第三名。”

“然而，美国在人工智能发展方面仍然占据绝对主导地位。中国凭借DeepSeek和Qwen等模型，已经赶上了美国水平的约90%，但美国的设备限制和国内需求疲软制约了其开发和部署人工智能模型的能力。”

林先生表示，美国试图将中国排除在其供应链之外，这为韩国在存储芯片、电力基础设施和储能系统领域创造了机遇。但他强调，鉴于中国可能采取报复措施，例如围绕美国末段高空区域防御系统（THAAD）的争端，韩国企业需要采取降低风险的措施，以维护自身利益。

9月23日，在中国国家主席习近平抵达马里兰州安德鲁斯联合基地前，美军人员走过一架F-22猛禽战斗机。（图片来源：EPA-Yonhap）

李议员还警告说，为了与美国加强合作而将中国排除在外是不明智的。他指出，中国的人工智能模型具有压倒性的成本优势，尤其是在推理方面，这使得中国越来越有可能主导消费级人工智能市场。

李说：“美国永远不会分享与其核心国家利益相关的技术，即使是对其最亲密的盟友也是如此，就像它拒绝出售F-22战斗机，却仍然提供F-16或F-18战斗机一样。”

“中国也不太可能通过研发与F-22相当的人工智能模型来挑战韩国，两国也不太可能在许多全球市场上直接竞争。归根结底，问题在于是否与中国共享人工智能供应链……我们应该开放那些不涉及核心国家利益或关键技术泄露的领域。”

李道京还强调，韩国需要寻找能够建立自身竞争优势的领域，而不是直接与美国前沿人工智能模型开发商竞争。他指出，韩国的制造业能力和行业特定的运营知识是潜在的优势。

这张摄于2025年5月21日的照片显示，人们在日本千叶县幕张国际展览中心举行的日本防卫安全装备国际展（Defense Security Equipment International Japan）上试用Palantir Maven智能系统。（路透社-韩联社）

然而，与会者警告说，韩国若在任何可能带来利益的地方寻求与两国合作，未免过于雄心勃勃。他们强调，有必要在可以与中国合作的领域和涉及关键安全利益的领域之间划清界限。

与会者举出的一个例子是 Maven 智能系统，这是一个由 Palantir Technologies 开发的美国军方人工智能平台，它在美国对伊朗的军事行动中发挥了关键作用，极大地加快了识别、优先排序和打击目标的过程，帮助美军在行动开始后的 24 小时内击中了 1000 多个目标。

与 F-22 一样，Maven 被认为是华盛顿不太可能与首尔分享的技术，而与会者表示，中国不太可能很快发展出类似的 AI 驱动的指挥控制能力。

金表示，韩国在讨论从美国移交战时作战指挥权时，应该考虑到这些技术差距。他认为，首尔应该利用与美国军事系统和标准的融合机会，学习美国技术，并在移交之前加强自身能力。

李议员也提出了类似的担忧，他警告说，如果朝鲜在首尔之前开发出有效的AI驱动指挥系统，或者从中国或俄罗斯获得此类技术，韩国现有的防御态势可能会变得脆弱。

10月28日，《韩国时报》在首尔新闻编辑室举办了题为“超越美中人工智能竞赛：韩国的战略优势”的圆桌会议，与会者合影留念。从左至右依次为：《韩国时报》社长兼出版人吴英镇；前总统网络安全顾问、崇实大学人工智能委员会主席林钟仁；Bone AI首席执行官李道京；韩国改革党议员李俊锡；以及前国家安全顾问、高丽大学名誉教授金成汉。照片由《韩国时报》记者沈贤哲拍摄。