The top U.S. envoy to South Korea on Wednesday described bilateral relations between Seoul and Washington as being in a state of "turbulence," stressing efforts to move the alliance forward into a stronger and more equal partnership. U.S. Ambassador Michelle Steel's remarks come amid apparent friction in the security and trade ties, from implementing their summit agreement from last October and intelligence sharing on North Korea to Seoul's push to retake wartime operational control (OPCON) from Washington. "This is, kind of, like a turbulence that we are going through between the Republic of Korea and the U.S.," she said during a dialogue session hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM), referring to South Korea by its official name. "An alliance does not mean it stays always the same. It can be weaker, and we can move forward to be stronger. This is exactly what we are working on," she said. Seoul and Washington have agreed on a series of economic and security commitments, including nuclear energy, shipbuilding cooperation and South Korean investment in the U.S., fo