Washington: A senior U.S. official on Thursday hailed South Korea as a country that punches far above its weight in semiconductor production and engineering, expressing his expectations for Seoul's role in advancing a U.S.-led initiative to promote artificial intelligence (AI) supply chain security.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Jacob Helberg, under secretary of state for economic affairs, made the remarks in response to a question from the agency, as the second "Pax Silica" summit commenced in Washington with the participation of nearly 20 member countries, including South Korea, Britain, Japan, and Australia.

The summit, launched last year, is part of a U.S. initiative to build and reinforce a trusted supply chain ecosystem for AI, critical minerals, and other areas. This initiative comes as Washington seeks to counter China's expanding influence in these fields.

"South Korea is obviously home to some of the world's largest memory chips. It's a country that far punches its weight in terms of chip production, technical expertise, and engineering," Helberg stated.

He further noted the regular bilateral conversations with South Korean counterparts and expressed enthusiasm for continued collaboration. Helberg also anticipated South Korea would offer "a lot of insights" during the Pax Silica gathering, particularly on issues related to AI infrastructure security and capacity shortages management.

Pax Silica, drawing from the Latin "pax," signifies peace, stability, and long-term prosperity, while "silica" alludes to the compound refined into silicon, a key chemical element for computer chips enabling AI, as explained by the State Department.