After last week’s knife attack on U.S. Ambassador Mark Lippert, concerns surged that the incident might undercut the South Korea-U.S. alliance ― one reason why Seoul officials convened an emergency meeting of vice ministers and even a National Security Council session right after the unprecedented incident.

Amid media speculation that the incident would damage the bilateral partnership, President Park Geun-hye called it an “attack on the alliance.” Upon arrival from her trip to the Middle East on Monday, she rushed to meet Lippert, who is in hospital following surgery on knife wounds to his face and arm.

Of course, the attack on Lippert was an attack on South Korea’s only treaty security ally, the U.S., which adds to pressure on Seoul to get to the bottom of the crime, prevent a recurrence and enhance the security of embassy staff and buildings.

However, excessive worries about a crack in the alliance seem to insinuate that the alliance might be fragile. Talk of the attack’s adverse impact has made many wonder whether the two allies lacked confidence in the partnership that they have long hailed as “forged in blood” during the 1950-53 Korean War.

Seoul officials said Seoul and Washington agreed to closely cooperate to prevent the attack from affecting the alliance. But few have come out and said that the time-tested alliance was resilient enough to weather the storm.

Jitteriness about an impact on the alliance might have resulted partially from public sentiment against the U.S., which worsened after a senior U.S. official’s recent remarks that suggested Seoul and Beijing had contributed to the diplomatic deadlock with Tokyo over historical issues. The U.S. desire to deploy an advanced missile defense asset here is another source of tension in the alliance.

But the allies have managed tougher challenges before, ranging from an upsurge in anti-American sentiment following the death of two girls who were run over by a U.S. military vehicle during an exercise in 2002, and an intense public health controversy about U.S. beef imports in 2008.

Concerns about a dent on the alliance have flared up quite often when the allies seemed to have different approaches toward Pyongyang and its nuclear ambitions, or when pro-North Korea forces whipped up anti-American sentiment here.

But the alliance is not that brittle.

For Seoul, the alliance with Washington is all the more crucial at a time when the North pushes to develop more advanced ballistic missiles and nuclear warheads to fit on them, and continues its menacing rhetoric.

For Washington, Seoul remains a vital partner, as it has been pushing for its strategic rebalance toward the Asia-Pacific ― emerging as a fulcrum of global power and wealth ― amid the increasing assertiveness of China.

The allies have a host of strategic dialogue channels to forestall any foul-ups in their communications.

The alliance is sturdy enough to look beyond the isolated incident and pursue a future-oriented partnership, given that the countries need each other for strategic cooperation not only on peninsular and regional issues, but also on global challenges including climate change, nuclear proliferation, antipiracy and antiterrorism.

What can be done, meanwhile, is for both to work closely to prevent mishaps from undermining their alliance, or from being perceived as such.

The allies should remain mutually confident about the alliance, and persuade the public of this, in order to further solidify their partnership and negotiate mutual benefits.

By Song Sang-ho (sshluck@heraldcorp.com)