Description
Intrinsic non-axisymmetric error fields in tokamaks can significantly degrade plasma performance by driving resonant field penetration, locked modes, and momentum damping through neoclassical toroidal viscosity. Conventional error field correction (EFC) strategy is to minimize resonant quantities such as dominant-mode overlap [1] or multi-surface resonant flux. These approaches are effective and essential for avoiding disruptive error field responses such as locked modes. However, they do not uniquely control the residual three-dimensional field spectrum. As a result, substantially different neoclassical toroidal viscosity (NTV) torque responses can arise even when resonant suppression appears comparable. Here we develop a torque-aware framework for intrinsic EFC based on quasi-symmetric magnetic perturbations (QSMP) [2] with applications to ITER. Using the Generalized Perturbed Equilibrium Code (GPEC) [3], one can construct a torque response matrix that relates both error and correcting fields to the resulting NTV, including their nonlinear coupling. This enables systematic optimization of correction fields under resonance constraints. Three ITER-relevant correction strategies, based on dominant-mode overlap, multi-surface resonance minimization, and the proposed torque-aware QSMP approach, are compared across baseline (15 MA) and reduced-current (7.5MA) ITER scenarios. In contrast to the resonance-focused strategies, QSMP achieves robust torque reduction while maintaining resonance control within acceptable limits. These results demonstrate that residual NTV considerations are essential for robust EFC in ITER. The torque-aware QSMP framework provides a physically motivated and operationally practical extension of conventional EFC for future high-performance tokamak plasmas.